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In the Oven: Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

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For our second to last recipe, we’re going to leave those ovens off and make up some caramel sauce. Great on ice cream, or maybe you’ll save some up to make a caramel-brownie sundae when we make the last recipe? Posting date is May 3!

Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
 
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Yield: 1 1⁄2 Cups
Ingredients
  • 3⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1⁄4 cup light corn syrup
  • 3⁄4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Small pinch fleur de sel (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan with high sides, stir the brown sugar, 1⁄2 cup water, and the corn syrup together. Stir gently so you don’t splash any of the mixture onto the sides of the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and stop stirring. The mixture will begin to boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly add the cream, whisking gently. The caramel will bubble vigorously when the cream is added, and will then clump.
  2. Return the pan to low heat and warm the mixture to dissolve the caramel clumps. When the caramel is smooth, add the vanilla and salt, if using, and whisk again.
  3. If using the sauce immediately, remove from the heat and beat vigorously to cool it slightly. Let stand for a few minutes before pouring over ice cream or cake.
  4. Let any leftover caramel sauce come to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate. You can rewarm the sauce in a microwave oven or in a double boiler.
Notes
How to store: The caramel will keep in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 

In the Oven: Millionaire’s Shortbread

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Next up on the schedule: the “Rich Man’s Twix.” Posting date is January 27!

Millionaire's Shortbread
 
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Yield: 24 bars
Ingredients
For the shortbread
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg yolk, slightly beaten
For the caramel filling
  • 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk (two 14-ounce cans)
For the chocolate glaze
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes
Instructions
Make the shortbread
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until blended.
  3. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat until well combined. Add the egg yolk and beat for a few seconds, or until just combined.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough and your hands with a little flour. Use your hands to gently work the dough into a 6-by-6-inch square. You will have to turn the dough and sprinkle the top with flour as you go. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup flour on the surface of the dough. Fold the dough over and knead until incorporated, then flatten the dough into a rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to the prepared pan and press it into the pan.
  5. Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Make the caramel filling
  1. Stovetop method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a medium heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of boiling water over low heat. Cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until thick and caramel colored. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat until smooth.
  2. Microwave oven method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cook on 50 percent power (medium) for 4 minutes, stirring briskly halfway through, until smooth. Cook on 30 percent power (medium-low) for 12 to 18 minutes, until very thick and caramel colored, stirring briskly every 2 minutes, until smooth.
  3. Pour the caramel filling over the cooled shortbread and place the pan in the refrigerator until cool, about two hours.
Make the chocolate glaze
  1. In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled caramel layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.
  2. Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the glaze hardens.
  3. Remove the pan from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so as not to crack the chocolate glaze. Cut into squares and serve.
  4. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

 

In the Oven: Vanilla Bean Caramel Apples

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Fall is in full swing — time to make some vanilla bean caramel apples! Posting date is November 4.

Vanilla Bean Caramel Apples
 
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Yield: 10-12 apples
Ingredients
  • 10 to 12 crisp apples
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ½ cup light corn syrup
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Ice
Instructions
  1. Wash and thoroughly dry the apples. Remove the stems, then set them on parchment-lined baking sheets a few inches apart. Insert a small dowel (about 7 inches long, pencil-sharpened on one end) about three quarters of the way through each apple.
  2. Put the cream in a small heavy pot. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and, using the tip of the knife or a small teaspoon, scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the cream. Add the vanilla bean to the cream.
  3. Simmer the cream and vanilla over very low heat for 10 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the vanilla bean and any other fibrous pieces. Vanilla bean flecks will remain.
  4. Return the vanilla cream to the pot, then add the sugar, corn syrup, and butter, making sure that the mixture doesn’t splash onto the sides of the pot. Place the pot over very low heat and stir very gently until the sugar is dissolved, to prevent burning. When the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pot. Heat the caramel mixture, without stirring, to 245 degrees F.
  5. Meanwhile, put a few handfuls of ice in a medium bowl that is large enough to accommodate the pot with the caramel mixture.
  6. When the caramel mixture reaches 245 degrees F. (and stays there for at least 1 minute), remove from the heat and place the pot on top of the ice for 30 seconds to slow the cooking. Remove the pan from the ice.
  7. Tilt the pot toward you to create a big pool of caramel and, working fast, immediately begin dipping the apples in it. Dip each apple only once, and don’t worry about coating it evenly or completely (the more you fuss with the caramel the more difficult it will become to dip). Return the caramel-dipped apples back to the baking sheet and refrigerate until the caramel is set, about 10 minutes. Serve.