Salted Caramel Banoffee pie

I love love love the Salted Caramel Ice Cream we get in France so fancied a saltier, less sweet Banoffee.  Tried this with a can of Carnation Caramel instead of the condensed milk.
Recipe from sweetthingyoumakemyheartsing.blogspot.com

Following below is my adapted, smaller, less sweet version.

Salted caramel banoffee pie (the full Monty)

If you like leave the salt out and make a more traditional banoffee pie, I do find the salted caramel adds a sophisticated edge and cuts through the richness ever so slightly.

Salted caramel banoffee pie

100g butter
250g chocolate digestives

100g butter
100g brown sugar (light or dark)
tin of condensed milk
sea salt

2 large bananas
standard pot of double cream

Smaller less sweet version  (method the same, just different ingredients)
Notes: after blitzing the biscuits, chop the pecans and add to the crushed biscuits before adding butter.

Crust
1/2 pack double chocolate Maryland cookies -about 120g
50 g butter, melted
25g pecan nuts

Filling
50g brown sugar
50g butter
1/2 tin Carnation Caramel
sea salt (3 large pinches -err on the side of caution, you can always add a bit more to taste)


Topping
1 banana
Lemon juice
1/2 tub creme fraiche
2 rounded tblspoons natural yogurt (I used low fat)
Spoonful icing sugar (to taste)
whipped together and enough sugar to counteract the tartness, but not sweet)
Pecans nuts to decorate.
6" springform cake tin

First of all grease a springform tin with butter, line the base with baking paper and grease the paper too.

Bash the biscuits in a bag or bowl, with a rolling pin, until they are fine crumbs. Alternatively use a food processor. Gently melt 100g butter and pour over the biscuit crumbs and stir to combine. Tip the mix into the prepared tin and level the top. Pop in the fridge to set for ~ 30 minutes.

To make the caramel melt the butter gently in a pan over a low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the condensed milk and gently increase the heat, stirring all the time. Bring the mix to the boil and allow to boil for at least a minute. This is important to make sure the caramel sets nice and thick and squidgy! Add sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until salted to your liking.

Allow the caramel to cool slightly for 5 minutes then pour over the biscuit base. Pop the pie back in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so.

Slice the bananas and arrange over the top of the caramel.

 Finally whip the cream and use it to top the pie. Pop the finished pie back in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

I kept this pie in the fridge and it was just as good on Easter Monday.

Another sweet treat. Salty caramel profiteroles.

In my ongoing search for easy and Yumscious Chritsmas pud alternatives I came across this on a blog called 'Not Quite Nigella'

Giant Salted Caramel Ice Cream Profiteroles

An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella

Preparation time:

Makes 4 large profiteroles

Choux pastry buns:

• Water 80g/2.82 fl ozs
• Milk 100g/3.5 fl ozs
• Sugar 5g/0.17 oz
• Salt 5g/0.17 oz
• Butter 75g/2.65 ozs
• Flour 100g/3.5 ozs
• 3 eggs

To fill:

• 500ml tub Woolworths Gold Salted Caramel and Fudge Ice Cream
• Half a jar of Woolworths Gold Salted Caramel Dessert Sauce

Step 1 - Make choux puffs. Preheat the oven to 210C/410C. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine the butter with water, sugar, milk & salt in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon quickly beat in the flour. Return to the heat and continue beating until the mixture comes together and leaves the side of the pan. I always find this bit a bit magic and love watching it happen. Cook, beating over low heat for 1-2 minutes to cook flour. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes.

Step 2 - Transfer to the bowl of a mixer. Beat the mixture to release any more heat. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time making sure that they're well combined between additions. Beat until the mixture is thick, glossy and smooth.

Step 3 - Spoon the choux mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle or usually I just snip the bottom of a plastic piping bag and use it without a tip. Pipe mixture onto tray in a spiral starting at the centre. You want it to be about 8-9cms (about 3.5 inches) in diameter. Then pipe another log of choux pastry on top of the original spiral between the dips. Repeat with the rest of the pastry to form four large profiteroles.

Step 4 - Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the heat down to 180C/350F and bake for a further 20-25 minutes. Once it is baked, prick small holes in the pastry with a skewer to release the steam and return to the oven to completely dry out for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to completely cool - it shouldn't take long and you can slice it in half horizontally to speed up the cooling process.

Step 5 - Meanwhile, scoop out three small or two large scoops of ice cream per profiterole and place in the freezer until needed. Heat up the salted caramel just before serving. These are best assembled just before serving as the ice cream will melt. Serve with warm salted caramel sauce either on top or on the side so that guests can help themselves.

Tip: You can bake the profiteroles ahead of time and freeze them. Defrost them on the benchtop and crisp them up in a 180C/350F oven for 5 minutes.

Slutty brownies

From Whatsgabycooking.com 
I have converted the weights and measures into ones that I can understand

A few weeks ago I was perusing the interwebs, mainly pinterest, because it’s my latest obsession and I spend an inordinate amount of time pinning things that I want to eat, and things that I want at my wedding. I’m not quite sure how people planned weddings before Pinterest. It’s kinda the greatest invention of all times. But while I was knee deep in my wedding pinning extravaganza, I stumbled across something called Slutty Brownies.

Clearly these caught my attention immediately. They are the brilliant creation of The Londoner, who is just pretty much awesome. Basically it’s a super brownie made with layers of cookie dough, oreo cookies, and then a rich and decadent brownie layer. They are totally slutty brownies. Or I guess they could easily be “I just got dumped brownies.”

So basically after I found these I made them approximately 23 times. Okay so maybe it was 12 times, but the moral of the story is that these are just downright awesome. My fabulous friend Koko and I decided that these are best eaten by oneself, with a spoon, perhaps a glass of bubbly rose and some trashy TV (I recommend the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Shameless). They are decadent. One small bite will be enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.

You could easily make these with box mix, which is what the original recipe I found calls for, but I took it one step further and made these with my all time favorite rich chocolatly brownie recipe and my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. The oreo in the middle may seem slightly out of place because you might think it’s going to be this crunchy layer between two super soft and chewy layers, but let me reassure you that it’s not. The oreo kind of soaks up a bit of moisture from the brownie batter and cookie dough and just adds that extra bit of fabulousness.

Print

Slutty Brownies

Yield: 1 9x9 brownie pan

Serving Size: 16 brownies per recipe

IMPROVEMENTS:  Use chopped 70% chocolate instead of chocolate chips.
REDUCE the amount of vanilla essence to 1tsp in each section.

Ingredients

For the Brownie layer:
• 150g unsalted butter
• 250g cups white sugar
• 80g  cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 80g cup AP flour
For the Oreo layer:
• 1 package of Oreo (regular stuffed or double stuffed)
For the Cookie Dough layer:
• 114g unsalted butter (at room temp)
• 45g brown sugar
• 150g white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (plain chocolate)

Instructions

1. For the Brownie layer:
2. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is melted. Whisk to combine and remove from heat. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and continuously whisk until the eggs are combined. Add the flour and continue to mix. Set batter aside.
3. For the Cookie Dough layer:
4. Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set dough aside.
5. Assembly:
6. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (180*C).
7. Line the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan with tin foil and then spray the tin foil with a layer of baking spray.
8. Layer the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies.
9. Layer as many oreos that will fit on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do.
10. Pour the brownie batter on top of the oreo layer and make sure it's evenly layers on top.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, let the brownies rest before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 minutes more.
12. Serve with ice cream :)

Perky Brownies

So much for being on a diet - my recipes seem to be predominantly baking.
This was in the Times in an article about the owner of The Perky Peacock a coffee shop on Lendal Bridge in York

Perky brownies
From the Perky Peacock

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
350g caster sugar
75g cocoa powder
75g plain flour
1 level tsp baking powder
2 large pinches of salt (my addition)
4 large free-range eggs, beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line 20 x 30cm baking tray with parchment.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. In a second, larger bowl sieve the sugar, cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Add the eggs to dry ingredients and mix to a paste. Stir in the chocolate and butter. Turn into the lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes until risen, but still a bit gooey in the middle. Cool and cut into brownies. They will sink, which tells you they are just right in the middle.

Cooking note.  My french oven is a bit on the hot side.  I find it a good idea to set the alarm for 25 mins, then check every minute or so as I prefer them a biy gooey in the middle rather than cooked through.