Danielle's Flandango

I LOVE flan. I was excited when Cami picked this episode. I've made and had flan a number of times before and this was as good as any I've had. The texture was perfect. And besides the caramel, it was super easy to make. The only deviation I made from the recipe was that instead of half & half, I used half whole milk and half heavy cream. Half & half is just milk and cream anyway right? I figured I didn't need to buy cream AND half & half.

I did all of mine with caramel. I'm interested in how it would turn out with chocolate in the bottom, but I didn't want to make chocolate sauce in addition to caramel. For the caramel, I used the brown sugar caramel sauce recipe in the Baked book. I messed up the consistency (I still haven't perfected my caramel making methods), but it worked out just fine for the flan. And it tasted great. This recipe is a keeper.

Melanie W.'s Vanilla Bean Caramel Apples

It's starting to really feel like fall here in Albuquerque and I can see snow on the mountains now, so I made these at the perfect time! This was my first time ever making caramel, and my first time cooking with both a candy thermometer and real vanilla bean, so it was fun to try new things.

Everything went well until the very end. I was careful to not stir it like the directions said, and I gradually turned the heat up so it wouldn't boil over. I kept waiting and waiting, but the temp never got over 215 degrees. Then it started to smell burnt, so I quickly took it off the heat because I didn't want the flavor to be ruined! Well, I don't think it cooked long enough. The caramel was pretty thin and, as you can see, just ran off the apples. And my attempt to dip them in peanuts pretty much failed.

I don't know if my candy thermometer just wasn't accurate (it's a cheap one, and my first time using it), or if I was just impatient. It was my son's bedtime, and his bedroom is currently the kitchen since we're living in a one bedroom apartment right now, so I may have turned the heat up too high too fast.

In the end, they were still edible and quite yummy! My caramel wasn't too chewy and had a very nice vanilla flavor. I really liked using the real vanilla bean. I might have to make caramel apples a yearly fall time tradition!

Fall is Here! Time for Caramel Apples!

This week's recipe is Vanilla Bean Caramel Apples on page 166.

I really wanted to do the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, but there appears to be a shortage of canned pumpkin puree. (I went to four stores and couldn't find any. One store employee said they've been out for weeks. I didn't know how many of you would be willing to make your own.)

These were pretty easy, and with good apples, they're pretty tasty. I used a vanilla bean, but I'm sure you could try it with vanilla extract (follow the maple extract instructions). World Market is a great place to get real vanilla beans for cheap. I got a packet with two vanilla beans for, I think, $4 (great place for other cool spices too!).

For dowels, I picked up some sturdy chop sticks at the grocery store. They were a little on the long side, but they worked great.

My caramel turned out to be a little too chewy. I don't think I overcooked it, but I would've preferred it to be a little on the runnier side. So if you don't like chewy caramel, err on the side of under cooking it rather than over cooking it.

I halved the recipe and it barely covered four large apples. Since I was halving it, I only used half of a vanilla bean, but I should've used a whole one. The vanilla bean smelled great, but the flavor wasn't very strong.

Overall, I was happy with the recipe. I don't think I've ever made my own caramel apples before, so it was fun to do. And caramel apples are the perfect treat to kick off Fall!

Cami's Peanut Butter Pie

This was also a huge hit for me! It was relatively quick and very easy. I obviously made a few changes which I loved. Next time I'll stick to the recipe to see how that tastes, but here's what I did.

My husband has been doing the grocery shopping. Bless him. He couldn't find the chocolate wafer cookies so he came home with the vanilla wafers. They worked very well and tasted great. I did add a little cocoa powder to it but not enough to do anything, I don't think. I agree with Danielle that the chocolate between the pie and the crust gets pretty hard. Adding cream is a great idea.

I made the pie part exactly like one should and then I already had some salty caramel sauce that we used for the Sweet & Salty Cake(I love that stuff) in the fridge so I drizzled that over the top. It was divine. Again, next time I'll do a chocolate crust and chocolate sauce but if you're looking for similar but different, try this. It's delicious.

Cami's Sweet & Salty Cake

This was only half way bad for me. As you can see, I have a leaning cake. I think the problem was that the caramel doesn't sink into the cake very well, creating a slick spot for the next layer. The cake is very tasty and I have a plan for the next time I make this cake. (Yes, I will be making it again. Maybe for a special occasion or something.) It will add a lot of time to the already time intensive (5 hour) cake, but it should be worth it to have a pretty cake. I would frost the first layer with warm caramel and then frosting. Put it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set the frosting. Repeat with the other two layers. If the caramel is warm maybe it will seep into the layers better. I was too impatient to do this since it was around 10:00 when I finished the cake. The actual cake didn't take that long to make, it was more the caramel and the frosting that needed constant attention and time.

As you can see, my slices still came out looking pretty and I had extra caramel that I drizzled on top. I love this caramel and will probably make it for popcorn or ice cream fairly regularly.

This was my first three layer cake. I walked right in to Walmart and picked up my 3 eight inch pans. Thanks for doing the ground work Danielle! I will try another three layer cake before I attempt this one again though.

Danielle's Disaster Sweet & Salty Cake

As I was making this (spending ALL afternoon making this), I kept thinking, "Man, this cake better be worth it." Well, it maybe would have been worth it if my cake hadn't fallen to pieces as I slid the third layer on.

So I ended up with a pile of chocolate cake crumble, instead of a gorgeous three-layer cake. It could have been any of a number of things. Maybe I didn't cook them long enough (I was worried about over cooking them), maybe I didn't let them cool long enough, or maybe, and probably the most likely reason, because I used all butter and no shortening (I hate shortening and I didn't think I had any, however I saw some in the back of the fridge as I was sliding my mess of a cake in).

But hey, it's still super tasty. Although, I will not be making this cake again...

Sweet and Salty Cake

Hi everyone. I chose the Sweet and Salty Cake for this week because I don't have the cookbook so I looked on their website and it said this was a famous recipe. It looks a little intense. Who is up for a challenge?

When did you start baking/cooking?
Probably when I was around 12. I remember trying to make a lemon meringue pie about that age.

What is your favorite kitchen tool?
Lately I've been enjoying my zester.

Do you have a favorite spice?
Can't think of one.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I want to go on a cruise--maybe Hawaii?

If you had to change your name right now, what would you change it to?
Tough question. I like my name. I've always liked the name Janie.

Where do you currently live?
We are living at my parents house in Pleasanton, California for the summer while my husband has an internship. Then back to Chicago!

Where are you from?
Pleasanton, California

If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Definitely Jamba Juice. Can't get enough of them.