Candy Challenge 2015 -- ???

Of all the recipes that I post here at WITK, the ones that I enjoy the most are the candy recipes. Perhaps it's because I'm a scientist at heart and I love playing with boiling sugar. The difference of a few degrees in temperature of your sugar syrup will take you from a soft nougat to a hard caramel. The creative options for candy are endless. Sweet, salty, savory. Everything goes with chocolate.

After taking a break from candy making, I want to start bringing it back to the blog. I think the best way to do this is to challenge myself with a goal. My goal is to complete every single recipe in the cookbook - Chocolates and Confections, by the Culinary Institute of America. It will likely take longer than 1 year, as there are more than 150 recipes in this cookbook. At least I have a head start from the 2011 Candy Challenge, I've already made 12 of the recipes!

Truffles and Chocolates
Black Forest Truffles
White Chocolate Truffles
Sesame-Ginger Truffles
Dark Chocolate Liqueur Truffles
Coffee Truffles
Gianduja Truffles
Coconut-Lime Truffles
Honey-Lavendar Truffles
Green Tea Truffles
Milk Chocolate Liqueur Truffles
Orange Truffles
T'ings
Mint Meltaways
Chocolate-Dipped Anything
Peppermint Bark
Bark

Brittles, Toffees, and Taffies
Hardy Candy
Candy-Coated Fruits
Candy-Coated Apples
Peanut Brittle - Completed - July 27, 2011
Pecan Buttercrunch
English Toffee
Chocolate Taffy - Completed - August 27, 2011
Molasses Taffy
Saltwater Taffy
Peanut Butter Taffy - Completed - February 12, 2013
Soft Caramels
Caramel Apples

Fudge, Fondant, and Pralines
Chocolate Fudge
Vanilla Fudge
Root Beer Float Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Maple Fudge
Penuche
Firefudge
Creamsicle Fudge - DONE
Fondant
Mint Patties
Cherry Cordials
Rock Candy
Pecan Pralines - Completed - July 24, 2012

Marshmallow, Nougat, and Jellies
Marshmallows - Vanilla-Honey Marshmallow - Completed March 26, 2015
Divinity
Chocolate Nougat - Completed - May 6, 2011
Peanut Butter Nougat - Completed - September 16, 2011
Nougat Torrone
Turkish Delight
Sponge Candy - Completed - May 12, 2012
Pectin Jellies
Agar Jellies
Citrus Confit
Chocolate-Coated Confit

Nuts!
Marzipan
Cherry-Almond Marzipan
Tropical Marzipan Squares
Walnut Marzipan
Toasted Hazelnut Squares
Pistachio Squares
Basic Gianduja
Layered Gianduja
Amigos
Buckeyes - Completed - June 6, 2011
Rochers
Almond Dragees
Chili Pecans
Caramel Corn
Coconut Joys - Completed - June 14, 2011
Turtles

Chocolate Molds and Cups
Buttercreams - Completed - April 12, 2011
Molded Cherry Cordials
Peanut Butter Bombs
Belle Helene
Black Pearls
Gianduja Molds
Dish of Dulce
Lattes
Passions

Layers of Flavors
Kitchen Sink Bars - Completed - August 29, 2011
Marshamels
Nutty Bars
PB&J Bars
Peanut Butter Goodness
Cocomels - Completed - November 7, 2013


Here's to mastering candy and chocolate once and for all! Are there any recipes on this list that you would like to see me tackle first?

Anyone want to join me on this journey? I promise to pair it up with an exercise routine, or a fool proof way to pawn off your treats on others!

J@H 2015 - Cadbury Creme Eggs

It's post-Mardi Gras, which means that we are in Easter season! I chose two classic and fun Easter treats to try and replicate for my Junk @ Home challenges this month. We're starting out with a controversial one, the Cadbury Creme Egg!

Why is it controversial? If you have missed out on the news this year, Cadbury Creme Eggs (in the UK) had their recipe tweaked this year. The chocolate shell chocolate was swapped from the original Dairy Milk chocolate to a Cadbury milk chocolate. Apparently they also decreased the number of eggs in a package and kept the price the same. Candy inflation!

Making these chocolates at home, you can choose whatever type of chocolate you want! Desire a dark chocolate creme egg? No problem. White chocolate and peanut butter shell? Why not!

I started off trying to make the creme egg in the traditional way. You create the two halves of the egg and then join them together. This proved to be pretty tricky and a bit of a mess...

Attempt number one was a bit of a fail. The two half shells didn't melt together and the creme filling oozed everywhere! The candies got stuck in the molds and took a few good whacks to remove. There was creme filling all over the place. I decided to change my game plan and create half-shell creme eggs. Besides, a store-bought creme egg is a mouthful.  Half a serving is really the way to go! (That's what I'm telling myself at least)

Creating these half-shell creme eggs was super easy and they're so cute! I went with a rich milk chocolate for the shell and a vanilla-flavored creme filling. Just a few short steps and you can also have some homemade creme eggs for Easter!

Step 1. Fill the candy molds completely with melted chocolate. Wait five minutes and pour out chocolate. (You can pour it back into the bowl with the melted chocolate, or onto a silpat).

Step 2. Add a drop of yellow-tinted filling.

Step 3. Fill with white-colored creme, until just below the top of the mold.

Step 4. Cover creme filling with melted chocolate. Level off bottoms with an offset spatula.

Set the candies by putting the candy molds in the fridge for 30 minutes. Flex the molds and pop the candies out. Share with your friends!

One Year Ago: Portuguese Sweet Bread
Two Years Ago: Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits & Cajun Chicken
Three Years Ago: Sponge Candy Cupcakes
Four Years Ago: Green Velvet Cupcakes

Cadbury Creme Eggs

Majorly adapted from This Website

I adapted this recipe from the original to remove all concern over corn products and GMO foods. I source my glucose syrup from a place in Manhattan, you can get the same stuff from Amazon! This glucose syrup is made from non-GMO wheat and will set any fears to rest. If you don't have concerns with using corn syrup (I use it all the time too), feel free to substitute corn syrup for glucose.

Egg candy molds (I got mine from Michaels)

12 ounces Milk chocolate, melted and tempered

1/4 cup glucose syrup (85g)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (160g)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
Yellow food coloring

Beat together glucose syrup and butter. Sift in powdered sugar and beat to combine. Add vanilla extract and salt, mix until combined. Add tablespoon of water and beat until creamy and smooth. Scoop out 1/4 cup of creme and tint with yellow food coloring.

You can load the two creme colors into piping bags or zip top bags. It is easier to pipe the filling into the candy shells, rather than trying to scoop it in with a spoon.

Fill candy molds all the way to the top with melted chocolate. Wait 5 minutes. Pour out chocolate and let the molds drip for 1 minute. Flip back over and let set for 30 minutes.

Pipe a "yolk" into the bottom center of the candy shell with the yellow creme. Cover with white creme, filling almost all the way to the top.

Cover with more melted chocolate. Use a knife or offset spatula to even out the tops of the candies.

Pop the molds into the fridge for about 20-30 minutes, or until the chocolate is set. Remove from the fridge and flex the molds to release the candies. Happy Easter!

Over the Top Carrot Cake

Every once and a while, you have to make something a little extra special. Any Milk bar recipe qualifies as just that, over the top, but it requires a little preparation. 

Okay, a lot of preparation. This recipe asks you to make a cake, graham cracker crust, frosting, liquid cheesecake and crumb. I would recommend making this recipe over the course of two days. Or one long snow day. That's what I did!

While it took several hours to complete this cake, the end result is worth the effort. The cake is soft and tender. The frosting is rich with graham cracker and butter. My only complaint? The original recipe is a bit too salty, which is a common issue with Milk bar recipes. The recipe below has the salt content tweaked a little, but is otherwise true to the original.

Be sure to share this little cake with friends and family, there is no way you will be able to (or should) eat the entire thing on your own. A small slice will do you, don't let your eyes be bigger than your appetite!

Dig in!

Two Years Ago: That Chicken Lettuce Cups
Three Years Ago: Asparagus Lasagna
Four Years Ago: Apple Marshmallows & Apple-Cinnamon Krispy Treats