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CandyWednesday, January 3, 2007
33 Uses for Leftover Candy CanesHere you go, oodles of things to do with those leftover candy canes. (Or maybe you want to pick some up on sale.) Use them whole: Crush them lightly: Make Candy Cane Sugar: Use them in recipes: So, what can you add to the list? Recipe: Peppermint Stick Layer CakeThis was my traditional birthday cake throughout my teen years: The Peppermint Stick Layer Cake. My mother came up with it as a way to use up the remaining candy canes from Christmas but it’s a great cake to make any time of year. The whipped cream is lighter tasting and less sweet than a buttercream or sugar frosting, but you’re free to create your own adaptation with your favorite frosting recipe. When the cake is well chilled it’s almost like an ice cream cake. I like mine as a four layer cake because it means that the ratio of whipped cream to cake is about equal. Ingredients:
Allow your cake layers to cool completely before assembly. Whipped Cream Chilling is essential to great whipped cream. I make mine using a two bowl method. Take a large pasta pot and fill the bottom with ice and then a bit of water. Fit a mixing bowl over it (I have a lipped bowl that fits inside my pasta pot well). Make sure the ice water mixture comes up to at least 1/3 of the side of the mixing bowl. Pour in your pint of whipping cream. Add a dash of salt. Whip using an electric mixer or whisk well. At about the halfway mark (when the whipped cream starts to hold its shape) start adding your crushed peppermint candy. Continue to whip and taste as needed. I prefer my whipped cream a little less sweet but your mileage may vary depending on how chunky your candy is and how sweet you want it. Be prepared to add between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of crushed candy. If you want it really minty, add some peppermint extract. If you want it really pink, add some red food coloring. Assembly Once your cake layers have cooled, make sure that they are flat (cut off any mounding). Either cut carefully or use dental floss to split each of the layers into two. (I’ve found cutting them easier if the cake is frozen.) Place first layer on cake plate. Mound some whipped cream on layer and spread evenly. Place next layer on top of that, repeat with as many layers as you have. Frost top. Depending on how generous you’ve been with your whipped cream, you can also ice the sides, I kind of like being able to see all the layers without it being cut. Dust the top with some remaining chunks of candy canes or whole starlight mints. Don’t add them until you’re ready to serve, they get a bit runny after about an hour in the whipped cream. Chill cake if you’re not serving immediately. You can even freeze it and serve it that way. Other variations: ● Use Cinnamon Candies instead of Peppermint Related: How to make Candy Cane Sugar and 33 Things to do with Leftover Candy Canes Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Big Island ChocolatesThere are three things people bring back from Hawaii: photos, coffee and chocolate covered macadamia nuts(CCMN). These are from Big Island Candies, which is a local chocolatier that does more than the typical Hilo Hattie’s style box (and sells both CCMN and Kona coffee). Yes, everything Big Island Candies does seems to have macadamia nuts in them, but they’ve got some inventive combos with potato chips (Hawaiian style!) and crisped rice. This box featured a mix of milk & dark chocolate covered macadamia nut cups. The macadamias are crisp and large, with an even crunch and light coconut taste to them. The milk chocolate was very sweet, a little too sweet for my taste, but still good smooth quality stuff. The dark chocolate set off the macadamias better, with a dark smoky flavor and smooth texture. All that said, there’s nothing wrong with me, but I’ve never been a huge fan of macadamias. They’re okay as an added element to a cookie, but as the feature in a chocolate they’re just not what I want to use my daily allotment of calories on (and boy howdy are macadamias calorie intensive!). If you’re looking for something a little more interesting to bring back from your next island trip, make an effort to find Big Island Candies. Their flagship store is in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii (with factory tours and free samples!), they also have more than candies, they’re known for their cookies as well.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:04 am Monday, January 1, 2007
2006: In ReviewIn the previous 365 days: ● 437 posts (wow, that sounds like a lot of candy) So what were my favorite things from this year? ● Pink Grapefruit Mentos - the most beautiful and tasty Mentos ever, don’t waste them on any soda fountains I also had some amazing experiences, ones I probably wouldn’t have had if not for Candy Blog: ● My visit to the 10th All Candy Expo in Chicago It wasn’t all happiness: ● One of my favorite candies of all time was discontinued: Reed’s Cinnamon, Butter Rum & Root Beer rolls I got you talking, too: ● Beware of internet stores that take your money and don’t send you candy I traveled: ● I tried some of the best chocolatiers in New York City and explored some other candy shops as well If 2005 was the year I was on the radio, 2006 has to be the year of multi-media coverage: ● I was interviewed for The New York Times Magazine Of course things weren’t just happening here on Candy Blog ... here’s a round up of other candy news from my fellow sweet bloggers: SugarHog reviewed just about every Hershey’s Kiss on the market ... David Lebovitz had a sweet year and took us behind the scenes of some great chocolatiers and confectioners ... CandyAddict added new writers, making it a group blog ... SugarSavvy.net transitioned leadership and added writers as well ... The Girl Who Ate Everything sampled Max Brenner ... If I were to start making candy again, this is what I’m gonna make: Cocoa Nib Caramel & Almond Butter Nougat Bars from Habeas Brulee ... William at Chocolate Obsession drank a lot of hot chocolate ... Slashfood seems to spend as much time talking about candy as I do ... and the latest breaking news about Noka in Dallas ... finally, you can keep up on everything in one place with Candy.Digesty.com Sunday, December 31, 2006
Munch BarEvery once in a while I get a hankering for peanut brittle. But aside from buying a tin of it or making it myself, it’s not that easy to find. Enter the Munch bar. Billed on the label as “Only 6 Simple Ingredients” it’s just a buttery hard candy studded with peanuts. In fact, there’s more peanuts in here than most brittle I’ve had. The ingredients are: peanuts, sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and soy lecithin. The bars aren’t that easy to find, which is a shame, because they’re a nice alternative to a chocolate bar. Kind of like a Payday. Mars actually markets it using its wholesomeness as a selling point. I like it because it’s sturdy. You can expose it to higher temperatures without it losing its shape and taste. The candy part of the bar is sweet and crunchy, not quite toffee and more solid than the usually slightly foamy peanut brittle candy. It’s buttery and has a light salty hit. The peanut flavor is, of course, the attraction. I love peanuts. There are 6 grams of protein in this bar, and at less than 1.5 ounces, that’s a lot of protein which makes it quite filling and satisfying. They’re an excellent summer bar and worth the work at finding them. There’s another version of this made by Planters, I’ll try to have a review of that soon.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:10 am Friday, December 29, 2006
Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel CaramelsHere’s another trend among cooks that’s filtered into the candy world: artisan salt. The most common place to find this in confections is in caramels. Sometimes it’s grains of sea salt sprinkled on top, sometimes it’s just a saltier caramel. It’s not like caramels didn’t always have salt in them. When I make my own caramels I usually use both salted butter and a pinch of salt because I think it brings out the caramelized flavors better. But of course the gourmets weren’t satisfied with plain old table salt or the more upscale Kosher flake salt, now they insist on curiously-colored and super-expensive sea salt crystals from Hawaii, France or New Zealand. They like to remind us of the grand history of salt and how our word for salary comes from the same root and why that means we should pay oodles of money for dried sea water. Frankly, it all looks like the stuff that we used to throw on the sidewalk when it got icy. All that said, I welcome the new attention to salt as a way to bring out natural flavors. And I welcome Trader Joe’s foray into the salted caramel market because it’s actually affordable. The Shaker-style box that they come in is cute. Inside the box are two plastic bags with 7 ounces of caramels each. Not really as pretty on the inside as I might have hoped for $6.99 a box (maybe a little wood shavings or excelsior?). The caramels are beautiful. Luminous and even looking, they’re smell like butter and burnt sugar. They’re individually wrapped in neatly folded clear cellophane. They’re sizeable morsels as well, each is two bites in my estimation. They’re firm to the touch but easy to bite apart. While some salted caramels have grains of salt sprinkled on top, these are completely incorporated (like the Charles Chocolates and unlike the Fran’s) The salt is very apparent on the tongue but the smooth chew and the buttery mouthfeel come through loud and clear. I liked them. I’m not sure I really want to eat all 14 ounces of them (that’s what’s good about the two packets in there instead of a large single one), so I might come up with some interesting things to do with them, like making a hard sauce for bread pudding.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:03 am Thursday, December 28, 2006
After Christmas Candy SalesYes, it’s time to prowl the aisles of your favorite store for excellent deals on holiday-themed candies. Crate & Barrel always has good stuff this time of year. Stuff I’d never buy at full-price, but at half off or more, the sassy packaging and classy looks make for pretty good deals. This year’s highlights in the sale include Cookie Joys for $5.95 instead of $17.95. The Chocolate Enrobed Caramel Corn is also a good deal (though I’m not sure if I’d want any) at $4.95 down from $14.95. Check out the whole array of goodies here. Williams-Sonoma doesn’t have quite the deal going on though, with average discounts of only 25% right now. Mostly the stuff isn’t that interesting, though much of it isn’t exactly holiday themed. Check out the whole list here. Dean and Deluca is still super-expensive, but there are some deals to be had. One that caught my eye before Christmas was this normally $100 array of nougats and candied almonds from Arnaud Soubeyran (yes, that fantastic confectioner that makes the nougats I love). It’s marked down to $50. More modestly they also have a selection of Hammond’s hard candies (ribbon, citrus slices and cinnamon drops) for only $7.50. See the entire sale list here. Lake Champlain is also always good for a bit of a sale after any candy holiday. They have a good array on sale and not all of it is even holiday themed. Check here for the latest. Godiva is also promoting their “Chocolate Covered Sale” boasting 50% off ... that means the 36 piece box that’s usually $42 is now a much more reasonable sounding $21. That green and red bow doesn’t matter, does it? In stores you’ll find good deals as well, so keep an eye out! Drop Dead Gorgeous PhotosIf you couldn’t already tell, I love taking photos of candy. And I love looking at photos of candy. This morning I saw a wonderful gallery of photos by Daniela Edburg called Drop Dead Gorgeous. They feature photos of death by various foodstuffs ... with candy playing a major role. Check out the interview in The Morning News and of course a full gallery of the photos. If you’re in the Miami area you can see the photos in person at Kunsthaus, the exhibition is entitled Bittersweet. (Pictured above in the mosaic are snippets from Death by Nutella, Death by Gummi Bear, Death by Lifesavers and Death by Cotton Candy by Daniela Edburg.) POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:26 am Candy • Fun Stuff • Photography • Page 279 of 337 pages ‹ First < 277 278 279 280 281 > Last › |
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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