Salted Caramel and Chocolate Popcorn Bars

I love experimenting in the kitchen, trying new ideas and new techniques but sometimes I don’t want a complex recipe or idea, just something easy that tastes great. I found a packet of microwave popcorn in the cupboard and remembered that Marcus Wareing’s book has a chapter of recipes for the stuff, including one with my favourite salted caramel. I dont need to tell you my love of salted caramel but other than eating it straight I love coming up with or coming across new ways of using the stuff and this is a really different way to use it. I decided to give it a go but adapted it to fit my idea. I tried, and kind of failed, to make the popcorn into bars and also added some chocolate. Even though they were a little messy they tasted absolutely great and best of all were super easy, great for a chilled out of night with friends and a movie.

NY Times Cookie Recipe

You already know that I haven’t been the best blogger recently, what with the infrequent posting, and maybe this recipe doesnt help with that, I mean its basically two years too late. It has been blogged, reviewed and critiqued everywhere and really, what can I add? Maybe nothing but the original reason I started the blog was to document my experiments in the kitchen, and in the end the recipe is really great and I wanted to share it just in case if by any chance it passed you by. I’ve tried many recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years but had never reached my idea of cookie nirvana but this may just be that recipe. It has a crisp edge with a chewy and slighty soft centre. Its also absolutely full of chocolate, I actually reduced the amount in the recipe because I wanted to be able to actually taste the dough. The big difference between this recipe and others is the resting of the dough. Once made the dough is rested in the fridge for 36 hours, to enable the egg to be fully absorbed in the other ingredients. You might think the taste doesnt really change but I tested batches at 12, 24 and 36 hours and the final cookies definitely had a stronger caramel/brown sugar taste, and I think its worth the wait.

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

Yes yes I know I have been a terrible blogger over the last couple of months but trust me the reason will become apparent soon. I know I have promised before to get back in to the swing of blogging but this time I will actually do it. I have a batch of cookie dough resting in the fridge and am making homemade burgers and ketchup this weekend too so some good stuff coming up. I had planned on having a weekend of doing nothing, trying to relax and catch up on some sleep but this cake changed all that. My brother asked if I would make a birthday cake for his fiancé and of course I agreed and because I was making one thing why not something else, actually why not spend most of the weekend baking. Maybe my mind works differently to others but that’s way mine works. The only problem? The heat. I wasn’t the most comfortable making a chocolate cake on the hottest day of the year and in retrospect this was a poor choice for the weather. Even making the cake late a night was a little difficult and uncomfortable, so it’s not the best cake I’ve made but it should taste great. The cake can be kept for three days but in the heat would have to be kept in the fridge, meaning the frosting would firm up so try and give it plenty of time to soften again.