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Caramelised White Chocolate Chip Pan-Bang Cookies

Caramelised White Chocolate Chip Pan-Bang Cookies

by | Jul 24, 2018 | 2 comments

These caramelised white chocolate chip pan-bang cookies are the perfect combination of salty and sweet – they’re also ridiculously good looking!

  Pan-Bang Cookies drizzled in caramelised white chocolate

I’ve always admired the work of Sarah Kieffer, from the vanilla bean blog but when she managed to rock the internet with her rippled pan-bang cookies, I fell in love even more. If you don’t yet know what pan-bang cookies are, you may be confused into thinking that they are, in fact, the result of a flop. With crispy lacy edges and a chewy centre, though, these are far from a mutant. They are a glorious invention and I tend to agree with New York Times food writer, Julia Moskin, that they are a ‘leap forward in cookie technology’. Now that’s a subject I wish I had at school!

Woman holding a stack of pan-bang cookies

The trick to getting the beautiful ripples in these pan-bang cookies is purposely banging the cookies during baking. This creates waves of deliciousness that don’t just make the cookies extra photogenic but give the edges extra crunch. 

Pan-Bang Cookie on a bed of sea salt

I adapted Sarah’s recipe by including chunks of caramelised white chocolate, whole toasted almonds and finished them off with a sprinkling of sea salt. If you’re not a caramelised white chocolate fan (who are you, even!?) then some really great-quality dark chocolate would be equally sinful in these! 

Find out how to make your own caramelised white chocolate here.  

Caramelised White Chocolate Chip Pan-Bang Cookies
Yields 10
A chewy chocolate chip cookies with crispy lacy edges
Print
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
5517 calories
658 g
710 g
301 g
69 g
156 g
1201 g
2926 g
385 g
7 g
124 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1201g
Yields
10
Amount Per Serving
Calories 5517
Calories from Fat 2626
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 301g
464%
Saturated Fat 156g
781%
Trans Fat 7g
Polyunsaturated Fat 25g
Monounsaturated Fat 99g
Cholesterol 710mg
237%
Sodium 2926mg
122%
Total Carbohydrates 658g
219%
Dietary Fiber 22g
87%
Sugars 385g
Protein 69g
Vitamin A
120%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
81%
Iron
160%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 284g cake flour
  2. 5ml ground cardamom
  3. 2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
  4. 5ml sea salt
  5. 227g unsalted butter, room temperature
  6. 230g castor sugar
  7. 1 large egg
  8. 50g brown sugar
  9. 7,5ml vanilla extract
  10. 30ml water
  11. 170g caramelised white chocolate, roughly chopped
  12. 100g almonds, toasted and chopped
  13. 50g rolled oats
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla and water and mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate, almonds and rolled oats until completely combined.
  3. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Weigh out 100g balls or use an ice cream scoop to measure out as many balls of dough as possible. Arrange the dough balls evenly between the lined baking sheets (around 5 per tray) and freeze overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan-forced).
  5. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Just as the cookies start to puff in the middle slightly, lift the one side of tray slightly (about 2 centimetres) and drop on to the rack. This will cause the first ripple to appear, tap the tray on the rack twice more before continuing. After 2 minutes, lift and drop the tray again. Repeat this method a few times so you have a few rippled lines on the cookie.
  6. The cookies bake between 16-18 minutes in total or until they are fully spread out and the edges are golden brown.
  7. Repeat this process with the second tray, and cool the cookies on a cooling rack.
Notes
  1. - The cookies are rather large, but in order to get the perfect ripple you need them to be large. If you make them smaller you won’t get the same effect.
  2. - If you don’t freeze the cookies beforehand, the cookies will spread out too much and you won’t get that desired ripple.
  3. - Baking them on the dull side of foil, makes the bottom of the cookies, nice a crispy and golden brown, but normal parchment paper also works just as well.
Adapted from The Vanilla Bean Blog
beta
calories
5517
fat
301g
protein
69g
carbs
658g
more
Adapted from The Vanilla Bean Blog
The Kate Tin https://thekatetin.com/
Cheats Crème Caramel

Cheats Crème Caramel

by | Jul 10, 2018 | 0 comments

  Disclaimer: No caramel was hurt in the making of this Cheats Crème Caramel.

Cheats Crème Caramel

You know how they say cheating is bad? Well, I propose that there’s a GOOD kind of cheating – the one where you can skip a whole step in baking to get to the deliciousness THAT much faster. Take crème caramel, for example. It’s so easy to make BUT waiting an entire day for the hard caramel to turn into a delicious sauce so you can eat it is absolute torture. So… what if you could cut out making the caramel for your créme caramel? 

I know what your thinking, “Caramel-less cheats crème caramel? You barbarian.” 

As you may know, the traditional crème caramel has a hard caramel set in the base of the mould – the custard is then poured on top and baked. After an overnight stint in the fridge, the caramel becomes a sauce which creates a golden brown waterfall once unmoulded. If you’re using refined white sugar, you NEED to caramelize it in order to get some flavour out of it BUT fortunately for us, these days we have an amazing range of dark and delicious unrefined sugars such as dark muscovado sugar. This is the ‘cheat’ in cheats crème caramel!

Cheats Crème Caramel

So, ditch the old-fashioned caramel and get yourself a bag of muscovado because we’re about to make magic happen. The beauty of this Cheats Crème Caramel is that you literally just have to scoop the sugar into the moulds. No caramelising, no crystals forming or third-degree burns. 

Cheats Crème Caramel

This Cheats Crème Caramel is hands down the best crème caramel I have ever had in my life and I probably ate like 3 of them all on my own. Give it a try and you’ll never make crème caramel the traditional way ever again! 

CHEATS CREME CARAMEL
Serves 10
This is the easiest, creamiest créme caramel you will ever have - hands down.
Print
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
25 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
25 min
2674 calories
286 g
1381 g
149 g
53 g
86 g
1284 g
700 g
274 g
0 g
54 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1284g
Servings
10
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2674
Calories from Fat 1313
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 149g
229%
Saturated Fat 86g
430%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 8g
Monounsaturated Fat 46g
Cholesterol 1381mg
460%
Sodium 700mg
29%
Total Carbohydrates 286g
95%
Dietary Fiber 0g
0%
Sugars 274g
Protein 53g
Vitamin A
118%
Vitamin C
5%
Calcium
96%
Iron
30%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 115g Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar
  2. 5 large eggs
  3. 140g Natura Golden Caster Sugar
  4. 15ml vanilla extract
  5. 375ml full cream milk
  6. 375ml pouring cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees for fan-forced) and make sure the oven rack is positioned on the lower third of the oven.
  2. Lightly grease 10 small dariole moulds or ramekins with cooking spray and equally divide the Natura Sugars Dark Muscovado between them.
  3. Compact the sugar in the base of the mould by using a smaller cup or a teaspoon. Place the moulds in a deep roasting tray, ensuring there’s enough room between each of the moulds.
  4. Combine the eggs, Natura Sugars Golden Caster and vanilla extract. Gently heat up the milk and cream in a small pot over a medium heat until it just starts to boil. Immediately remove from the heat.
  5. While whisking, gradually pour the milk/cream mix into the egg mixture.
  6. Strain the mixture into a pouring jug and pour it into the prepared moulds. Don’t worry if any sugar begins to float, it will eventually sink.
  7. Place the creme caramels in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the tray to reach halfway up the sides of the caramels. Bake for 25 minutes or until just set with a slight wobble in the middle. It should look like jelly!
  8. Allow to cool before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
  9. When you’re ready to serve, run a thin knife along the edges of the moulds and invert onto a plate. The caramels will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
  1. Make sure you don't over-bake it, the custard must still have a noticeable wobble.
beta
calories
2674
fat
149g
protein
53g
carbs
286g
more
The Kate Tin https://thekatetin.com/
Peppermint Crisp Tart Nut-Free Macarons

Peppermint Crisp Tart Nut-Free Macarons

by | May 16, 2018 | 0 comments

These macarons are made with desiccated coconut instead of almonds making them the perfect nut-free alterantive to traditional macarons. These ones are filled with caramel buttercream and shards of peppermint crisp chocolate.

#SPONSORED

It’s World Baking Day on the 17 May, which is basically like Christmas for me, so if you love baking as much as I do then you’re going to want to bake up a serious storm! But what’s a day dedicated to baking without a challenge, right? There’s nothing more challenging to bake than a macaron. They’re infuriatingly tricky but there is nothing more rewarding than getting them right. And it does take practice – take it from these pastry chefs, they’d know!

Macarons can be pricey to make (I don’t need to tell you that ground almonds and butter cost a kidney, guys) so I’ve developed a recipe which is MUCH more affordable but delivers on flavour and texture! I’ve developed this macaron recipe uses ground up desiccated coconut to replace the almonds and it works like a bomb. Sandwich that together with a luscious buttercream made with Stork Bake and caramel, roll it in shards of peppermint crisp and you’ve got an ode to our good old peppermint crisp tart that’s fancy and champions one of our local desserts. Win-win!

Remember that list of baking essentials I posted the other day? If you head over to Stork Bake’s Facebook page they’re giving away a R500 Yuppiechef voucher every day and on World Baking Day, you could WIN the grand prize of a R3000 Yuppiechef voucher and a brand new Kenwood Mixer! That’s plenty of cash to stock up on all the baking gadgets your heart desires! If you decide to make these macarons, please share your pictures with me on social media! You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Happy baking!

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Tart Macarons

Makes: 24

 

COCONUT MACARONS

165g desiccated coconut

165g icing sugar

pinch of salt

115g egg whites (from about 4 large eggs)

½ tsp cream of tartar

150g white sugar

60g water

few drops brown gel food colouring

 

CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

150g Stork Bake, softened

150g icing sugar, sifted

150g tinned caramel (or you can make your own with this recipe)

200g peppermint crisp chocolate, crushed

 

Line 2 x baking trays with baking paper or a silicone baking mat. Place the desiccated coconut, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until fine. Sift the mixture twice and pulse any remaining lumps until they pass through the sieve. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the cream of tartar. Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Simmer until the syrup reaches 113 degrees Celsius on a sugar thermometer. Start whisking the egg whites until they reach soft peak stage then pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg whites in a steady stream. Continue whisking until the meringue is thick, glossy and still warm to the touch. Fold the coconut icing sugar mix into the meringue in two parts, using a metal spoon, taking care not to knock the air out. Keep folding until the batter is glossy and forms a thick ribbon when dropped off the spoon (to test, drop a blob on the baking tray and tap 3 times – it should spread nicely). Place in a piping bag and pipe 5 cm rounds, leaving enough room for spreading. Tap the baking tray firmly on the work surface 3 times to remove the bubbles and for the macarons to spread slightly. Allow to sit at room temperature for 45-55 minutes or until the surface of the macaron no longer feels tacky to the touch (it shouldn’t stick to your finger). Preheat the oven to 95 degrees Celsius fan-forced (105 degrees conventional). When the oven is ready, place one tray of macarons in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes then immediately increase the temperature to 175 degrees fan-forced (185 degrees conventional) and bake for 9 minutes. They are ready when the feet feel firm and the shells just come off the baking paper if you lift them. Allow to cool completely.

To make the buttercream, whip the Stork bake and icing sugar until light and fluffy then whip in the tinned caramel. Place in a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Pipe the buttercream on one macaron then sprinkle with the peppermint crisp and sandwich together. Refrigerate overnight then allow to come to room temperature before serving.

NOTE Macarons are best eaten the day after assembling as they become chewy.

Salted Caramel Cake

Salted Caramel Cake

by | Feb 16, 2018 | 7 comments

This Salted Caramel Cake has buttery malt sponges sandwiched together with layers of caramel and toffee buttercream with just a touch of sea salt. Can I get an 'Amen?'. Caramel on top of caramel, on top of more caramel - this, can never be a bad thing. Especially when it's to celebrate a birthday. A very special birthday!

It's The Kate Tin's birthday!!!! Hooray! If you've been following my bakes for a while, you'll probably know that this is the blog's 8th birthday. Can you believe it? 'Cos I can't. It feels like just the other day that I was celebrating it's 7th with this cake and oh, the 6th birthday cake was also so delicious!

Back in the day, when The Kate Tin was a baby, she actually had a different name. She was called 'Katelyn's Korner' - original, ey? And the 'K' in the 'Corner' is so very 90's. *Cringe*. Luckily someone knocked some sense into me and she was promptly renamed. But not before I decided to only do baking.

When it first started, I'd share sweet and savoury recipes - meals, drinks, whatever. Because I was fresh out of chef school and working in restaurants and wanted to share everything that I'd learnt. But you guys, you had other ideas. Everytime I posted something drenched in chocolate or dripping in caramel, you LOVED that, and I just couldn't ignore it. Secretly, I was happy, because I LOVED doing it too! So today, on it's 8th birthday, I thought I'd celebrate with a throwback to one of my (and your) favourite cakes. This salted caramel cake is one of my greatest hits and if you haven't tried it yet, then well, your weekend just got exciting! Kx

 

Salted Caramel Coma Cake

Serves 6-8

260g salted butter, softened

100g golden syrup

200g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

250g cake flour

2 tsp (10ml) baking powder

60g malted milk powder (aka Horlicks)*

40ml milk

 

Toffee buttercream

120g white sugar

1/2 cup (125ml) water

3/4 cup (180ml) cream

250g butter, softened

 

200g (1/2 tin) tinned caramel or dulce de leche spread

Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

Caramel popcorn, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius. Line the bottoms of 2 x 15cm springform cake tins and set aside. Cream together the butter, syrup and brown sugar until very light and creamy (about 8-10 minutes). Beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and milk powder and fold together, adding the milk to form a thick batter. Divide the batter between the two cake tins and spread evenly. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, upside down, on a cooling rack. To make the buttercream, place the sugar and water in a pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer, without stirring, until the mixture begins caramelising. Once the syrup reaches a toffee-colour, pour in the cream and swirl to combine. Allow to cool completely. Cream the butter until very white and fluffy (about 8-10 minutes) then add the toffee sauce and whip to combine. To assemble, slice each cake in half to create 4 layers. Spread the first layer with tinned caramel then a layer of buttercream and top with the next cake layer. Continue until 4 layers are formed. Frost the entire cake using the buttercream (I used some tinned caramel along the bottom of the cake to achieve an ombre affect). Place the remaining buttercream in a piping bag (to create a swirled effect, simply smear stripes of caramel in the piping bag before adding the buttercream) then pipe blobs onto the top of the cake. Place in the refrigerator to set. To serve, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and top with caramel popcorn (if desired).

*If you can't find malted milk powder, simply toast normal milk powder until golden brown in the preheated oven. Allow to cool, pass through a sieve and incorporate as usual.

TIP To make a 25cm cake with 4 layers, double the recipe above.

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Lollies

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Lollies

by | Jan 5, 2018 | 0 comments

It ain’t Heritage Day without caramel peppermint crisp tart and these are deliciously refreshing for the (hopefully) warm weekend. And after a braai all you really want is an ice cream lolly and a swim, right? These were actually born from the leftover filling from these Peppermint Crisp Eclairs I made last week. I filled lolly moulds with the caramel peppermint crisp tart filling and and dipped them in chocolate and they are SO GOOD! What are you making this Heritage Day?

CARAMEL PEPPERMINT CRISP TART ICE CREAM LOLLIES

Makes 12

 

1 can (400g) tinned caramel

250ml milk

250ml fresh cream

400g Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars, crushed

50g crushed Tennis biscuits

 

Chocolate dip

200g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used AFRIKOA 70% dark chocolate)

160g odourless coconut oil

 

Place the tinned caramel in a bowl with the milk and whisk until smooth. Beat the cream until stiff peaks then fold into the caramel mix. Stir in  ¾ of the peppermint crisp and the tennis biscuits. Pour the mixture into 12 lolly moulds and freeze until firm. In the meantime, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave on full power, stirring every 30 seconds. Allow to cool slightly then pour into a drinking glass or jug (to allow for easy dipping). Dip the ice cream mould briefly in hot water to remove the lollies then immediately dip into the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the remaining peppermint crisp. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and quickly put them back in the freezer until firm.

Peppermint Crisp Tart Éclairs

Peppermint Crisp Tart Éclairs

by | Sep 16, 2017 | 0 comments

Eclairs, meet peppermint crisp tart. I think you'll get along quite nicely! In fact, I know you will because I tasted you (over and over again - just to be sure!) and you were delicious!


It wouldn't be Heritage Day without me doing a twist on our classic South African dessert, peppermint crisp tart. Those layers of whipped cream, caramel, mint chocolate and coconut tennis biscuits seem to set every South African's heart a-flutter. Mine included!  It's why I've done so many twists on it! Let's count 'em:

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Cake

Peppermint Crisp Hot Chocolate

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Sandwiches

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Crisp Fridge Bars

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Mousse Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart

Peppermint Crisp Tart Milkshakes

I've worked really hard to perfect my eclair recipe over the years and I've discovered the secret to getting that even shape that lines pastry shop windows is to rest the piped pastries before baking them - it makes so much sense! All that gluten you've worked up causes them to go wonky if you bake them straight away - just genius. I wish I remember where I'd read that handy little tip so I could thank the person. The crunchy caramel top is a must - it gives the illusion that the eclairs are coated in peppermint crisp caramel and gives a lovely crack when you bite into them. Just heavenly!  And if you're really feeling creative, make your own tinned caramel - even if it's just to eat it out the tin!

PEPPERMINT CRISP TART ECLAIRS

Makes 12

 

110g cake flour

80g salted butter, cut into small blocks

1 cup (250ml) water

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

 

Filling

1 can (400g) tinned caramel or make your own

500ml fresh cream

3g gelatine leaves

400g Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars, crushed

 

200g white sugar

Mini tennis biscuits, to decorate

 

To make the eclairs, sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter and water until just melted then bring to a rolling boil. Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely. Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. Pipe long tubes of dough about 10 cm long onto a lined baking tray. Allow the eclairs to stand for 1 hour, for the gluten to relax. Bake at 200 degrees celsius (180 degrees fan-forced) for about 15 - 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Turn off oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes.

Make the filling by placing the tinned caramel in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Beat the cream until stiff peaks then fold into the caramel. Bloom the gelatin leaves by soaking them in cold water until completely soft. Squeeze out the water, place in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds until just melted. Whisk into the caramel filling mix along with ¾ of the peppermint crisp and place in a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip.

To assemble, make three small holes in the bottom of each éclair using a plain tip piping nozzle then pipe the filling into each hole. To make the topping, place the white sugar in a saucepan over medium heat with 1 tbsp water and bring to the boil. Allow to caramelize until golden brown then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Dip the tops of the eclairs in the caramel then immediately crumble over the tennis biscuits and remaining peppermint crisp. Repeat with the remaining eclairs. Serve on the same day.