Dessert By Candy

My FA-VOU-RITE Things

I am still reeling from the high of last night’s ribs dinner. It was part of the multi days birthday celebration for Little Brother and I cannot wait to share with you all the wildly delicious recipes. There are so many dishes that earned a place on my regular cooking rotation!

But first, I have a big backlog of completed cooking projects that I never got around to write much about. Today is Victoria Day holiday Monday here in Canada so consider this post to be my long weekend slack off. Or better yet, as the incomparable Julie Andrews would say, these are a few of my fa-vou-rite things!

If we’re talking about Favourite Things, brown paper packages tied up with strings are mandatory. Before I made my batch of vegan coconut lime soft caramels, I made these Smoky Maple Salted Caramel using maple sugar, amber maple syrup, and Maldon sea salt. Just follow Dan Lepard’s master caramel recipe and you’ll be singing on top of your voice in no time.

Vegan Coconut Lime Caramel

Lately I rediscovered the joy of homemade candies. The therapeutic quality of bread baking convinced me that I will also find peace in cooking caramel in my concussed state of mind. I only wish. As I found out, hovering my hands inches above a molten pot of lava is anything but calming. My heartbeat galloped away with the rising mercury of my candy thermometer. That’s right, cooking caramel is not the best activity for concussion recovery.

Eating homemade caramel, on the other hand, induces joy and satisfaction that few things can compare. So I guess it all evens out. Every piece of these vegan coconut lime soft caramel mellows from chewy to melty with a lingering richness of creamy coconut and lilting lime. If my head is completely right, I would probably go on longer about how much I love my stash of caramels. But since I much rather let my mind wander in this land of healing, here is the recipe without further ado.

Guarantee Encore

It is rare that I bake the same thing more than once. Only recipes that yield spectacular result and those that I personally crave receive repeated appearances in my kitchen. My favourite financier recipe occupies such an esteemed place in my repertoire. For those unfamiliar with this French pastry, I like to describe it as a tea cake. It is a cross between cake and cookie. There is no leavening agent, just a cooked batter of beurre noisette (browned butter), egg white, ground almond, sugar, and flour. It is often made into small bite-size servings as a dainty accompaniment to tea or coffee. Such simplicity yet so much room for creativity! I played around with this master recipe in many different ways. This week, I found a new variation that I simply cannot get enough of.

Last weekend I enjoyed great success with my Black Sesame Yuzu Pear Tart. The rich nutty taste of black sesame contrasts so beautifully with yuzu poached pears. However, making a tart can be a little involved and I wanted an easier way to experience this winning combination. Entered my Black Sesame Financier with Yuzu Poached Pear.

Small Token Of Appreciation

I love presents, you love presents, everybody loves presents! One of the main reasons I became a jam-maker is to have a stash of homemade gifts at the ready all year round. Sure I love to give a box of assorted cookies (labour intensive) or a jar of jam (jam again?), but recently I want to branch out. My first name is a giveaway that confectionery holds a special place in my heart. Candy By Candy sure has a nice ring to it! My latest foray into the world of candy making is candied citrus peels.

I don’t know why I thought candying citrus peel would be difficult. I made countless batches of marmalade before, even in someone else’s bachelor kitchen. I put up jars of candied kumquats. I have no fear of playing with heat and sugar. This is a classic treat to introduce newcomers to the wonderful world of homemade candies.

Let’s Get Sappy!

Today we all have the license to act sappy, cheesy, and lovey-dovey. Do you plan your day according to social expectation or are you one of those who rebel against the commercial pressure? I personally don’t recall ever spending much money on Valentine’s Day. Homemade valentines to close friends and family is the norm for years and I proudly continue my tradition even though I am no longer a little school girl. This year I dusted off my long-neglected skill in tempering chocolate and made some dark and white chocolate hearts.

Oh these are not just any chocolate hearts! Nestle Crunch Bar has been a favourite of mine for years but I do not particularly enjoy cheap milk chocolate. Dark chocolate and white chocolate set my heart aflutter. Plain old Rice Krispie cereal is fine but caramelized Rice Krispie is better! Throw in dried tart cherries and a pinch of fleur de sel and I have the chocolate treat of my dream.

Happy Holidays!

My Winter Solstice Party last weekend was a celebration of good friends, good food, and good drinks as I hoped. But now I am in the enviable position of having way too many holiday cookies at home. As soon as I plated a small fraction of the cookies into towers and platters, I couldn’t stop giggling with glee. Much thanks to Little Brother for capturing that moment. What a sight to behold!

My friends and family all pitched in to share the calories (share the love). It was a sugary buttery sweet celebration and I am thankful to be surrounded by so many loved ones. Happy Holidays from Dessert By Candy. I hope your festive season will be as sweet as mine!

Christmas Comes Early

When my house is overflowing with shards of toffee, piles of spiced nut mix, mountains of cookies, stacks of brownies, and buckets of homemade caramel popcorn, it must be the holiday season, right? I’m not even arguing that as a food blogger, I prepare for the holidays months in advance for my imaginary publishing schedule. I honestly have a list of names to match with homemade gifts to be hand delivered this weekend. Three months ahead of my normal confectionary madness!

It all came about innocently enough. I baked some cookies a couple of weeks ago. I then casually promised a good friend I will bring him a few when I see him this weekend in Minnesota. I realized I will also see many other friends from all over the continent. If I give them my small token of appreciation this weekend, I can save lots of money from shipping cost have I wait until December. Dollar signs danced before my eyes. Before I could even calm myself down with a mug of peppermint cocoa, I turned my kitchen into Santa’s workshop.

Holiday Cheers

I’ve accumulated so many backlog material to write this week entirely beyond my intention. I spent far more time in the kitchen or with my camera than in front of my computer in the last few days. Due to a malicious virus attack, I lost my entire hard drive in one fell swoop and I’ve been busy recovering files since. The damage of lost data is kept to minimal since I did a thorough back up in early August and incremental back ups are available online. It’s tedious work but the silver lining is an oddly liberating feeling of ridding my computer of many outtakes from photo shoots. Though not by choice, I now only have files of the best shots from a large collection.

So much for misleading you into thinking about holiday cheers! Well, actually, I do have plenty of that to share. As per my annual tradition, I prepared homemade gifts for friends and families. I’m still feeling the aftermath of cookie burnout from my fundraiser effort of 70+ dozens. Rather than a huge production of baking extravaganza, I scaled back this year to five recipes of homemade candies. My success with confectionary last year gave me confidence and experience to make a few crowd pleasers on short notice. Welcome back, Candy By Candy!

Two Gifts In One

An unwrapped present is my blank canvas. It is where I let my creativity shine without even lifting a paintbrush or sculpting a lump of clay. When I found out about Well Preserved’s Pimp My Preserve in the spring, I was very disappointed that I missed out on a contest so right up my alley. Lucky for me, they are once again hosting the contest this year and I prepared my entry well ahead of submission deadline! I present you Dessert By Candy’s Pimp My Preserve Flower Pot!

I set a 250mL wide mouth mason jar inside a galvanized flower pot padded with shredded Aspen wood fibres. The jar lid is decked out with a riot of individual handmade blossoms. A chalkboard marker and matching lilac ribbon completes the look. I know it’s chilly outside but this bit of spring can hopefully remind us of warmer days when I made that vanilla apricot jam.

Gift wrap can sometimes be a little wasteful once the recipient undress the gift to reveal the present within. Well, I’m happy to tell you this design is in fact two gifts rolled into one! The flower pot and chalkboard marker can be reused to plant some small herb. Plucking fresh rosemary from your window sill is always a treat especially in the dead of winter.

A group of these flower pots would make a fantastic centre piece if you’re so inclined. I can see it being used in a spring wedding if you are already thinking of giving your guests homemade preserve as favours. Simply customize it with names of bride and groom written on the chalkboard.

I encourage you to check out other contest entries at Well Preserved’s Facebook page. If you need help with voting, here are some helpful tips and directions. Of course, if you want to totally make my day, vote for my little flower pot!

Canning Jar Figgy Pudding

This is a post of a cool idea that I put to test but lacking in pretty photos. No matter, it is too cool to just keep to myself. Any British or anglophile baker reading this? Any procrastinators who missed Stir-Up Sunday and still haven’t made your Christmas pudding yet? My answer was an emphatic yes to all of the above as of last night but not anymore!

As I mentioned yesterday, I am smitten by Dan Lepard’s new cookbook Short & Sweet. The book has a number of British Christmas pudding recipes including plum pudding and figgy pudding. They all call for steaming the pudding in a traditional 2 pint pudding basin with a lid that you make out of parchment paper, foil, and string. The whole contraption is steamed in a water bath for hours until it is cooked through. Every recipe ends with the dire warning that you should not, under any circumstances, peek inside the lid after the pudding is steamed. During the month-long aging period, you want to minimize the risk of introducing mould to your pudding as it sits quietly in the dark cupboard. Water bath? A tight seal? Storage at room temperature? Sounds like canning to this home canning aficionado!