Sponge Candy!

Ooh, this was a fun one to make. Sponge candy (also known as honeycomb, seafoam, cinder toffee, among other things) is weird. I'm still amazed by what sugar can do simply by heating it to different temperatures. The difference sponge candy has is baking soda. Some recipes use vinegar to create a bubbly reaction. In this particular version, just the thermal decomposition of the baking soda causes the release of carbon dioxide, which causes the bubbles. Same idea. 

I don't remember the first time I had sponge candy, but I definitely fell for it in Ireland. Crunchie bars are probably my favorite candy bar, and I'm super sad they aren't a thing in the US. It's probably for the better...I might not have teeth if they were. I am in love with this candy, everything about it. I love the golden color and thousands of holes dotting its surface. I love the delicate tinkling sound of pieces hitting against each other. I love the texture, crunchy but easily yielding to the teeth, then dissolving to nothing. 

Scary Cave. Why did this happen?

I tried making a recipe over Christmas Break, and it was HORRIBLE. It called for actual honey and it smelled so, so bad. Like a barn. And it tasted awful, and I was so sad. I did some more research and found this recipe from Wilde in the Kitchen, who seems to have done some serious sponge candy research. Mine turned out...okay? The outside bits are very good, especially dipped in chocolate. But the whole inside was this...scary cave. Trypophobes, beware! I just scraped all the yucky stuff out and was left with some lovely candy. If anyone has perfected a recipe, let me know! 

Sponge Candy
from Wilde in the Kitchen

¼ tsp gelatin
1 tsp water
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cups light corn syrup
½ cup water
1 tbsp baking soda (sifted)
Butter a 9x9 pan then dust with flour. Tap out excess flour.
In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1 tsp water and allow to bloom.
In a medium stock pot with high sides, mix sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water together. Heat over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Wash down any sugar crystals from the sides with a wet pastry brush. Clip on candy thermometer and heat to 310° F.  Do not stir after you have clipped the thermometer on, the sugar will self stir.
Remove from heat and let sit for two minutes, bubbling should subside. Add gelatin and whisk, be careful, the sugar syrup will bubble up. Sprinkle baking soda over syrup and whisk vigorously. Return mixture to the heat and whisk for 30 seconds. The sugar will rise up in the pot, a lot!
Quickly pour into prepared pan, it should come out in a big blob. Do not spread the mixture, just let it settle into the pan. Allow to cool completely (about 2 hours or overnight) before removing from the pan.
Either break into odd pieces or cut into squares (this is a messy process!). To cut into squares - using a serrated knife, score the candy at 1-inch intervals. Snap the candy apart at the score lines. Then score and break into squares.
If you please, melt chocolate melts in a double boiler (or bowl sitting above a pot of boiling water). Dip sponge candies in chocolate, tap off excess. Chill in the fridge to set the chocolate shell. Enjoy!

Monkey Bread 2.0

I'm a grazer. Not literally, though that might be useful in a pinch (curse you appendix for abandoning humans). I mean I like eating small amounts at a time. So eating in a dining hall was kind of hard for me. What if I wasn't hungry at mealtimes? Or only wanted to eat a light meal? Or or or what if there was something good and I only wanted a little but would like more later? Such a difficult life I lead! 

It may look like a homely ball of dough now, but wait until you see what it becomes!

So I definitely did not acquire the freshman 15 this year (could have also had something to do with the complete lack of alcohol consumption). But, complaints about my state of hunger were probably familiar to my friends.

Being hungry at home is a totally different story. If I want to make cinnamon bread at 10 p.m. then by golly I will! And it will be warm and delicious and I will eat it for every meal if I want to. So there.

Still kinda homely isn't it. Welp, you'll still love it, right?

It's kinda like monkey bread but more homemade. Do you know monkey bread? Chunks of ripped up biscuit dough thrown in a bag with cinnamon sugar and baked in a bundt pan? Well, meet the grown up version. Is there an inherent weird shapedness in this type of bread? I guess crevices help spread the cinnamon sugar around...mkay, enough musing. Bake long and prosper? 

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

from Joy the Baker

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large,  greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  Seriously?  Just go for it.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board.  Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.

Swirly Snickerdoodles

Mm. I'm home. The home where it's common to have a dog on your lap at any given moment (like right now), where I can eat my mom's spaghetti for every meal if I choose to, or stay up all night reading in my own room. 

But...school became home in a way too. I find myself referring to it as that now. And to be honest, at the beginning I never thought I would feel that way. Being a naturally introverted person (Very introverted. Have you taken the MBTI test? I got 100% introverted. Yeah.) , adjusting to the college setting was really quite difficult for me. But it just...happened. Gradually, I had places I could call my own, people I were comfortable with. 

It's nice to have more than one place to call home. What makes home for you? Do you have multiple homes?

Swirly Snickerdoodles

(I made these for my brother's orchestra concert reception. They're kind of a more grown up version of a snickerdoodle, extra cinnamon-y and crunchy. Lovely with a warm beverage.)

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tb ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

1 Tb melted butter

1. In a small bowl combine cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar, set aside. 

2. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and butter on high for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar and baking powder, scraping sides as needed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can, then use a wooden spoon to mix in the rest. If necessary, chill dough until easy to handle (I didn't and it was fine)

3. Divide dough in half. Place each half between two pieces of wax paper, and roll into a 12x8 inch rectangles. Brush each with melted butter, and sprinkle two tablespoons of cinnamon sugar on each. Starting with one of the short sides, and using the wax paper to lift and guide, start rolling up your dough in a spiral. Moisten edges and pinch to seal. Repeat with other dough. 

4. Roll each...roll in remaining cinnamon sugar. Cover them and chill for 4 to 24 hours. 

5. Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes until edges are firm.