Butterscotch blondies

The first time I ever heard of anything butterscotch was after I started blogging – I used to make caramel all the time for this dessert, but it was always the simple kind, the one made with sugar and water only: the caramel made with sugar, butter and cream was a revelation to me.

After that, I saw many recipes with butterscotch in their names, but it meant that they called for butterscotch chips, something one cannot find here. I can’t remember how many recipes for butterscotch blondies and cookies I’ve seen so far and most of them called for the chips, that is why I was really eager to make these blondies for they did not call for any chips at all: the caramel was part of the batter, and that sounded too good not to try.

Another thing that having a food blog has taught me is to trust my feelings: the recipe sounded good, indeed, but the amounts of sugar and flour looked way too much – I would end up having a sugar high or baking a stodge (or both). So I baked the blondies my way and they turned out not tooth achingly sweet, gooey and soft, the way I wanted them to be, and with a strong caramel flavor – delicious.

Butterscotch blondies
slightly adapted from the beautiful Home Baked Comfort (Williams-Sonoma) (revised): Featuring Mouthwatering Recipes and Tales of the Sweet Life with Favorites from Bakers Across the Country

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
300g light brown sugar
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
½ teaspoon table salt
250g all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir in the brown sugar and cook until the sugar starts bubbling like molten lava, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the cream, and let it bubble away, stirring with a big whisk, until smooth and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, rum, and salt. Let cool to room temperature.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving two overhangs on opposite sides and butter it as well.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Stir the butterscotch mixture into dry ingredients, then whisk the eggs in, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Spread the batter into the prepared dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out relatively clean, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares.

Makes 16

White chocolate butterscotch cookies

I read the wonderful "Awards Daily" everyday and yesterday I saw the trailer for "The Sessions": you know that I adore John Hawkes and he's kicking some serious ass in that movie; before watching the trailer I thought the movie would go heavy on the drama but there's a comedy feel to it that I absolutely loved - William H. Macy looks great as the priest. There, another movie I cannot wait to watch - the list is never-ending, I guess. ;)

Another never-ending list of mine is the one with recipes I want to try, but to be honest these cookies were not on top of that list; I wanted to bake something with fruit but I did not have any around, so the bag of white chocolate chips inspired me to try Martha's recipe - and that was a delicious surprise: these cookies are easy to make and taste great.

White chocolate butterscotch cookies
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (198g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups (220g) brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
225g (8oz) white chocolate, chopped into 6mm (¼in) chunks – I used white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
With the mixer on low speed add the flour in two batches and beat until just combined. Stir in the chocolate.
Drop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time about 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets.
Bake rotating the pans halfway though, until lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Let cookies cool on the pans for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Makes 2 dozen cookies – I used 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie and got 30

Butterscotch banana cake

And just when I thought that Flo Braker’s banana cake would hold the title of “best banana cake ever baked in my kitchen” forever Mr. Dan Lepard showed up with the idea of caramelizing the bananas before adding them to the cake batter – how great is that? The cake turned out absolutely tender, with a deep, beautiful golden hue and a delicious, strong banana flavor.

Inspired by one of my favorite performances by Robert DeNiro I’ve been thinking of Dan Lepard’s cake topped with Flo Braker’s streusel – if there’s anyone out there willing to try that combination I would love to know how it turns out. :D

Butterscotch banana cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Short and Sweet (mine was bought here)

Butterscotch bananas:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
250g bananas, chopped into 2cm pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (180ml) canola oil
2 large eggs
¼ cup (65g) plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Make the butterscotch bananas: tip the sugar into a frying pan with the water and cook over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved – after that, do not stir again. Bring to the boil then cook over high heat until the sugar turns to a dark reddish caramel. Add the banana pieces, butter and vanilla – carefully, caramel may spit – and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bananas break up in the caramel and the mixture is thick. Spoon on to a plate and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm square pan and line the base with baking paper. Butter the paper as well*.
Beat the sugar with the oil and eggs until thick and slightly aerated, then beat in the bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Sift the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together over the bowl, then fold this through the banana mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until golden, risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* I used a pan with a removable bottom and did not line it with baking paper – just buttered it really well, especially in the corners

Makes 16 squares

Butterscotch pots

You almost got another panna cotta here today. :)

I think of panna cotta every time I need to use up heavy cream before it goes bad – what changed my mind this time, you might ask? The poor lonely egg yolks left from the buttercream on my MIL’s birthday cake. :D

These pots are delicious but also very, very rich – small cups are the way to go here.

Butterscotch pots
from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
1 ½ cups (262g) dark brown sugar, packed
3 ½ cups (840ml) heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Scotch whisky or Irish whiskey
9 large egg yolks
sweetened whipped cream, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and melt together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and then stir in ½ cup of the cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 cups of cream, the salt, vanilla and whiskey.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream until smooth – whisk continuously to avoid cooking the yolks. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a large container with a pouring spout. Divide the custard among 8 ovenproof ramekins/cups.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the roasting pan with foil and pierce it in several places to allow steam to escape.
Bake the custards just until set around the edges and still slightly wobbly in the center, 45-60 minutes. Remove the custards from the oven and then from the water bath; set aside to cool completely then refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until well chilled, at least 4 hours for up to overnight. Top the custards with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and serve (I dusted the cream with a little cocoa powder).

Serves 8 - I made 1/3 of the recipe above and used 200ml capacity cups