Tag: Caramel

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

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Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Salted. Caramel. Cheesecake. Need I say more?

To many, plain cheesecake is decadent enough. For me, this amazingly delicious Salted Caramel Cheesecake, is gluttonous heaven. A buttery, crunchy, salted bagel crisp crust that sits beneath a smooth and creamy caramel cheesecake filling, topped with praline shards that hold notes of caramel, salt and bagel crisp crunch. Wow.

Ingredients – cheesecake

  • 2 packets of Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps
  • 150g of butter – melted
  • 800g caramelised condensed milk
  • 500g block of cream cheese – at room temperature
  • ¼ cup of boiling water
  • 3 tsp of powdered gelatin
  • ½ tsp of salt – or to taste

Ingredients – praline

  • ½ packet of Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps
  • ½ cup of caster sugar
  • 2 tbs of cold water

Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Praline

 

Method

  1. Place 2 packets of Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps into the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and process until combined. Press the crumbs evenly over the base and sides of a lined, 20cm springform pan using the back of a metal spoon and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  2. Place cream cheese and caramelised condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat until smooth.
  3. Place boiling water in a heatproof bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Add gelatin mix and salt to the cream cheese mixture and process until well combined.
  4. Pour the cream cheese filling mixture over the bagel crumb base and refrigerate overnight, or for a minimum of four hours.
  5. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.
  6. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil, and boil, without stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until the mixture turns golden. Remove from heat. Set aside for 2 minutes to allow bubbles to subside. Roughly break ½ a packet of Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps into halves and quarters and arrange on prepared tray, pour over sugar and allow to cool before breaking into praline shards.
  7. Carefully remove cheesecake from spring form pan, arrange praline shards on top and serve.

Enjoy!

Caramel Cheesecake

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Caramel Chicken

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Image: Super Food Ideas – August 2011, Page 61. Photography by Mark O’Meara.

Caramelised Chicken or ga kho is a sticky, sweet and spicy Vietnamese dish. And, before you get freaked out by the words Caramel and Chicken appearing alongside each other, it is savoury caramel rather than a sweet caramel. So don’t worry you won’t be tucking into a bowl of Jersey Caramels with a side of chicken thigh!

This Vietnamese style savoury caramel sauce weaves together the perfect blend of salty, sweet, sour and spicy by making a caramel using sweet brown sugar, salty fish sauce, sour lime juice and spicy chilies along with some garlic which reduces to a glaze while it cooks, for a full flavour punch. Delicious.

Ingredients – Caramel Chicken

  • 1 tbs peanut oil
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 800g chicken thigh fillets –  trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 medium red onion – thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves – minced
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs fish sauce
  • 1 tbs lime juice
  • 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
  • Steamed rice to serve

Ingredients – Pickled Cucumber

  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbss caster sugar
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers – cut into thin ribbons
  • 1 green onion – thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup of cold water

Method

  1. To make the pickled cucumber, place the vinegar, sugar and 1/4 cup cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, add cucumber, stir to combine and set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, stir in the green onion.
  2. Place the chicken and oil in a bowl and toss to combine. Heat a large frying pan or wok over a high heat until hot. Add half the chicken and cook for two minutes on one side until lightly browned, turn and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining chicken.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium and add a little extra peanut oil if needed. Add the onion and garlic and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Return the chicken to the pan, add the soy sauce, chilli flakes and stir to combine.
  4. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to high, add the sugar and stir to combine. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce is rich, dark and syrupy.
  5. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and stir to combine.
  6. Place in a serving dish and serve with steamed rice and pickled cucumber.

Enjoy!

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Double Chocolate and Salted Caramel Shortbread Slice

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I am a firm believer that there can never be too much chocolate, caramel or nuts in a slice and FINALLY I have found the perfect recipe. This Double Chocolate and Salted Caramel Shortbread Slice is so, so tasty.

It is relatively easy to make, if you don’t mind some mindless stirring and little hands will love to dip their fingers into condensed milk help you make it and pipe on the white chocolate icing at the end. The salt from the nuts sets off the sweetness of the caramel and chocolate… like I said, HEAVEN.

Ingredients

  • 150g butter, softened
  • ½  cup of firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1/3 cup self-raising flour
  • 395g can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • ¾ cup salted chopped mixed nuts – you can use unsalted if you prefer
  • 200g milk chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tps vegetable oil
  • 50g white chocolate, melted

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 140°C. Grease a 3cm deep, 20cm x 30cm pan and line with baking paper.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat 120g butter, sugar and yolk until pale and creamy.
  3. Stir in flours until combined. Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and leave to cool. It is important that you leave it to cool or everything you try and put on top will melt, which isn’t quite as awesome as you think it would be.
  5. Meanwhile, place condensed milk, golden syrup and remaining butter in small aucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, for 15 minutes or until mixture is golden brown.
  6. Pour caramel over biscuit base. Smooth top. Sprinkle with nuts and carefully press into caramel. Bake for 10 minutes.
  7. Place milk chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture over caramel layer. Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum.
  8. Remove slice from pan. Spoon melted white chocolate into a snap-lock bag. Snip off 1 corner. Pipe white chocolate over milk chocolate. Set aside for 20 minutes or until set.
  9. Trim edges and cut into delicious chunks. I prefer to make them uneven as I think it gives it a more rustic look and feel.

Enjoy!

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