Giveaway Winner + Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache Topping

Congratulations to Jennie over at The Messy Baker Blog for winning the Redwood Hill giveaway!

She is a lucky girl!  But, if you didn’t win, don’t worry… I will have more giveaways.

Okay, two really exciting things happened this week:

1.  The president of Micronesia visited my college on Sunday.

2. I got Homecoming Queen.  Funny story, though… they got two “Homecoming King” sashes, so I got to rep a king sash all night long.  Don’t care!

Anyway, before it gets too cold, I want to share one more freezing cold recipe with you.

I have eaten Gelato a few times, but this is the first time I had ever made it.  I could not believe how creamy it was.  So decadent and the chocolate peanut butter topping was also smooth and creamy, so there were some nice textures going on.

If you happen to get another unseasonably warm day, I suggest you make this Gelato.

Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache Topping

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups vanilla Kefir (I’m obsessed with Kefir right now if you can’t tell)
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• ¼ cup creamer
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp oil

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and Kefir in a medium saucepan. Whisk and heat over medium heat, frequently scraping the bottom, until the mixture begins to barely simmer around the edges.
2. Then, stirring constantly and scraping the sides and corners of the pan to prevent scorching, let the mixture simmer for 2.5 to 3 minutes to fully cook the cornstarch.
3. Scrape the hot mixture into the bowl and whisk until well blended
4. Set in the freezer to cool for about 10-15 min.
5. When cool, whisk in the frozen yogurt until you get a smooth consistency.
6. Pour the Gelato mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
7. Once frozen, melt the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and oil in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave until melted, about 1 minute.  Whisk until blended and spread evenly on top of the Gelato.
8. Freeze again until the chocolate layer has hardened.

Ganache Topped Caramel Tart

Wow.


I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written.


I should have given you THIS recipe to abruptly leave you all stranded with for a week because half of that time will be spent making it.


This is one of those recipes that the pictures looked really delicious so I started making it without reading the directions first, so by the time I realized I had to chill it for 4 hours TWICE, I had already gotten too far into it to back out.  It’s not hard, just time-consuming.


But trust me when I tell you it is WELL worth the wait.

 beat, beat, beat!

 add the eggs

 add the cocoa mixture

 put in the oven… AFTER you’ve pricked it with a fork

 make the caramel

 watch it CAREFULLY

 pour into the shell

 heat the whipping cream and let the chocolate sit

 after three minutes, mix until it looks like this

top with white chocolate shavings OR salt, your preference

ugh, someone save me!

Ganache Topped Caramel Tart

Adapted from:  Not Lazy-Rustic

-adapted from saveur, diner journal and lottie and doof

crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

5 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and softened

10 tablespoons (1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

caramel:

1/2 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons condensed milk (or creme fraiche)

ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces chocolate chips

grey sea salt, coarse sea salt or fleur de sel

in bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt.

in separate large bowl using hand mixer, beat butter and sugar 2 minutes, or until mixture is combine, pale and fluffy. add yolks and vanilla extract; mix to combine. stir in dry ingredients, just until combined. place dough in 9″ fluted tart pan with removable bottom; press evenly into bottom and up sides of pan. chill in fridge 30 minutes. (i skipped this part, it turned out perfectly) meanwhile, heat oven to 350˚f.

place tart pan on baking sheet; pierce crust all over with fork; bake 20 minutes, or until firm, dry and fully cooked through. transfer to rack; let cool.

in large pot, stir together water, sugar and corn syrup. cook over medium-high heat 10-20 minutes, or until mixture reaches a medium-amber color, swirling occasionally. (you ultimately want a caramel that’s a bit darker and deeper in color, but it does continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.) remove saucepot from heat. carefully drizzle in heavy cream, then the butter, then the condensed milk (the mixture will bubble VIOLENTLY). stir until smooth. pour the caramel into the cooled crust. let sit until cool and firm; transfer to fridge and chill 4 hours, or until very firm.(i chilled mine in the freezer until the chocolate was finished… so like thirty minutes tops?)

place chopped chocolate in small bowl. in small saucepot, bring heavy cream to a boil. pour cream over chocolate; let sit 3 minutes. using spatula, slowly stir mixture, starting in the center, until the cream and chocolate come together. pour ganache over tart; use spatula to spread and smooth. chill tart for several hours.

when ready to serve, remove the sides and bottom of the tart pan (trick: place the tart on top of a large can and gently wiggle off the side). cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with salt (i topped mine with white chocolate pieces). wait 5-10 minutes before serving slices.

Ganache Topped Caramel Tart

Wow.


I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written.


I should have given you THIS recipe to abruptly leave you all stranded with for a week because half of that time will be spent making it.


This is one of those recipes that the pictures looked really delicious so I started making it without reading the directions first, so by the time I realized I had to chill it for 4 hours TWICE, I had already gotten too far into it to back out.  It’s not hard, just time-consuming.


But trust me when I tell you it is WELL worth the wait.

 beat, beat, beat!

 add the eggs

 add the cocoa mixture

 put in the oven… AFTER you’ve pricked it with a fork

 make the caramel

 watch it CAREFULLY

 pour into the shell

 heat the whipping cream and let the chocolate sit

 after three minutes, mix until it looks like this

top with white chocolate shavings OR salt, your preference

ugh, someone save me!

Ganache Topped Caramel Tart

Adapted from:  Not Lazy-Rustic

-adapted from saveur, diner journal and lottie and doof

crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

5 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and softened

10 tablespoons (1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

caramel:

1/2 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons condensed milk (or creme fraiche)

ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces chocolate chips

grey sea salt, coarse sea salt or fleur de sel

in bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt.

in separate large bowl using hand mixer, beat butter and sugar 2 minutes, or until mixture is combine, pale and fluffy. add yolks and vanilla extract; mix to combine. stir in dry ingredients, just until combined. place dough in 9″ fluted tart pan with removable bottom; press evenly into bottom and up sides of pan. chill in fridge 30 minutes. (i skipped this part, it turned out perfectly) meanwhile, heat oven to 350˚f.

place tart pan on baking sheet; pierce crust all over with fork; bake 20 minutes, or until firm, dry and fully cooked through. transfer to rack; let cool.

in large pot, stir together water, sugar and corn syrup. cook over medium-high heat 10-20 minutes, or until mixture reaches a medium-amber color, swirling occasionally. (you ultimately want a caramel that’s a bit darker and deeper in color, but it does continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.) remove saucepot from heat. carefully drizzle in heavy cream, then the butter, then the condensed milk (the mixture will bubble VIOLENTLY). stir until smooth. pour the caramel into the cooled crust. let sit until cool and firm; transfer to fridge and chill 4 hours, or until very firm.(i chilled mine in the freezer until the chocolate was finished… so like thirty minutes tops?)

place chopped chocolate in small bowl. in small saucepot, bring heavy cream to a boil. pour cream over chocolate; let sit 3 minutes. using spatula, slowly stir mixture, starting in the center, until the cream and chocolate come together. pour ganache over tart; use spatula to spread and smooth. chill tart for several hours.

when ready to serve, remove the sides and bottom of the tart pan (trick: place the tart on top of a large can and gently wiggle off the side). cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with salt (i topped mine with white chocolate pieces). wait 5-10 minutes before serving slices.