Sunday, March 27, 2011

BAKED Sunday Mornings: Malted Crisp Tart


Hi everyone! I can't believe that I had to miss the last two recipes in Baked Sunday Mornings. With all the reviews I read of the recipe for Salt-n-Pepper Sandwich cookies, I definitely want to make those soon! I was so glad I was able to bake the tart for this morning's recipe. I made it a few days ago after work, and even though there are many steps, it really didn't take that long. The tart dough came together easily in the food processor. The caramelized rice krispies were easy to make and tasted delicious on their own. The chocolate ganache also came together easily and even the malted pastry cream wasn't too many steps. This is definitely a recipe that requires a lot of bowls, measuring cups and spoons. The recipe called for malted powder, which I wasn't sure where to find. I went to my local supermarket and asked someone there if they had malted milk powder and they didn't have any in the baking aisle. I was told to go look in the coffee aisle where the Ovaltine is. I bought regular malted Ovaltine powder and that seemed to be the right thing for this recipe. I know malted milk powder can be purchased online, but I didn't plan ahead enough for that.



After you make the tart dough and press it into the tart pan, it gets put in the freezer while the oven heats up. Once the tart dough is baked and cooled, you spread the chocolate malted ganache over the top and then press in the caramelized rice krispies and some crushed Whoppers.


The whole tart then goes into the refrigerator while the pastry cream is made. After the pastry cream is made and cooled in the refrigerator, you spread that on top of the tart and then top it with more caramelized rice krispies and broken Whoppers.



I think the tart looked really pretty once it was done! I had a lot of difficulty cutting the tart, so I think that I made my tart dough too thick (which the recipe warns against...) and I thought this tart was really sweet. I brought it to work for my co-workers and they loved it, so I think it's all just a matter of taste.  My favorite part of this tart was probably the caramelized rice krispies!

To read how everyone else made out with this recipe and to find the recipe, head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Chocolate Chunk Texas-size Muffins


Oh gosh, I can't believe I've been gone over a month! I haven't been baking much and honestly, I've been really busy with work and other things. Like learning how to use the new DSLR camera I got! I started taking a photography class and hopefully my pictures of my baked goods will get better and better!

I made these muffins the other day. They're fairly easy to make, just 2 bowls and some stirring together. I used milk chocolate, but I think I'd use a chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa next time. The milk chocolate seemed a little too sweet. I made these muffins in a Texas- size pan because I have the pan and hardly ever use it and I like how the extra large muffins look! However, I brought the muffins into work for my co-workers and they were all eaten up!

Here's the recipe:
(Very slightly adapted from 1 mix, 100 muffins)

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 cup chocolate chunks (I used a bar of chocolate from Trader Joe's that I chopped into chunks)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
6 tbsp melted, cooled butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a large (Texas-size) muffin pan with 6 wrappers. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a lareg bowl. Stir in the sugar and chocolate chunks.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl and then beat in the milk, oil and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients. Stir gently until just combined; do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. I also sprinkled some coarse sugar over the tops of the muffins. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.



Hope you enjoy!