Salted Caramel Apple Pie

A few years ago I took a Sur la Table class called "Take and Bake Pies" for Thanksgiving.  I absolutely loved the recipe for this salted caramel apple pie and you will too!  This is a great recipe to make with kids.  Sometimes as parents we don't realize what our kids are actually capable of doing unless we let them try.  Children also have more desire to try new things if they had a part in making it.

My son had a blast making the leaves, 

peeling the apples, 

mixing the caramel and pouring the mixture into the pie.

And then with the left over dough and apple peels and cores he decided to make a "penguin snowman and his fish".

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients
My Pie Crust Recipe

Salted Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp corn syrup
3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt

Crumble Topping:
1 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Apple Pie:
1 pie crust (above)
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced
2 gala apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
Salted caramel sauce (above)
Crumble topping (above)

Directions:
For the caramel sauce: in a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil, without stirring. Use the pastry brush to wash down an sugar crystals on the side of the ban to avoid the caramel from crystalizing.  Boil the liquid until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 4 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream.   The mixture will bubble up furiously.  (Don't panic.) Gently stir in the butter and salt.  To finish, pour the caramel in to a container and allow to cool.

For the crumble topping: combine the dry ingredients and stir to mix well.  Stir in the melted butter and mix to form crumbles.  Set aside.

For the apple pie: preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl combine the sugar and flour and toss with apples.  Pour half of the prepared caramel sauce over the apples and stir well.

Arrange the leaf border after laying down one 9-inch pie crust.  Add the apples to the pie crust and cover with topping.  Use your hands to press down the topping all over the apples evenly, forming a compact crust.  Insert a pairing knife in the center through the topping to allow steam to escape.  (Do not slice the pastry!)

Place the prepared pie onto the hot baking sheet and bake until the pie is brown and the juices are bubbles, about 1-1 1/2 hours.  (If the pie browns too soon, cover it with foil.)  Cool to room temperature, slice, and drizzle with remaining caramel sauce.

Transition to Fall

Salted Caramel Pecan Crunch Ice Cream

Yes, I know the summer is over and it's now fall but you wouldn't know it in Southern California.  It is still warm enough to have an excuse to make ice cream!  Salted caramel has become popular but it also is considered a fall flavor.  Salted caramel ice cream?  Now that's a California kind of fall.

This ice cream hits all notes with the sweetness of the caramel and a touch of fleur de sel.  The perfect crunchiness of the candied pecans add the right amount of texture.  Serve it in a homemade ice cream cone and you just can't get enough.

Therapeutic topic of the week:
Can TV make you fat?  It obvious that if you're sitting around all day watching television that you're not getting exercise and using energy.  But did you ever think that certain commercials make you eat unconsciously?   John Bargh, an expert in priming behaviors recently studied the effects of junk food commercials.   One study observed the effects of children watching a cartoon and adults watching a comedy.  They either saw commercials with junk food or non-food products.  The adults rated various foods after watching the show while the children had various snack foods available to eat while they watched.

The results showed that both children and adults ate more if they watched the junk food commercials.  Fascinatingly, they did not eat the food advertised in the commercial!  The advertisements primed eating, not necessarily what food was being advertised.  When the adults asked why they were eating, they simply report it was because they were hungry.  They didn't know that they had just been primed to eat.  The scary part is people were eating without knowing that the advertisements were causing them to eat.  Yikes!

So what does this mean?  Turn off your TV!  Or at least record it so you can forward the commercials.

Salted Caramel Pecan Crunch Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:
Ice cream custard:
2 cups whole milk, divided
1½ cups cane sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pecan praline:

1 egg white
1 Tbsp water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz pecans - about 2 cups
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

Spread 1½ cups sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.) Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn.

Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160-170 F.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Make the pecans.   Preheat oven to 300°F. Put sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg in a plastic bag, shake to mix. Put egg, water, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until slightly foamy, add pecans and coat well. Lift pecans out of bowl with a slotted spoon and put into the bag of sugar and spices. Shake pecans in bag making sure they are well coated.  Bake 30 minutes on a baking pan lined with silpat or lightly greased aluminum foil. 15 minutes into the baking, stir up the pecans with a fork. Let cool completely.

While the ice cream is churning, chop pecans into small pieces.  Once your caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the pecans, then chill in the freezer until firm.

Ice cream slightly adapted from David Lebovitz

Pecan praline from Simply Recipes

Heavenly Chocolate and Caramel

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Want delicious mouth watering cupcakes?  Try salted caramel.  Ever wonder why salted caramel is such a crowd pleaser?  The flavors of salty and sweet are balanced leaving you satisfied with just one cupcake (or maybe two).  Caramel is great on it's own but add salt and suddenly its a grown up treat. Making your own caramel can take time but the end result is worth the effort.  This cupcake is a chocolate cake with a salted caramel filling and a salted caramel buttercream.  The trick here is to try to leave enough caramel to complete the cupcakes (and stop licking your spoon along the way).  It is also a great cupcake to share during Ramadan or for Eid.

Therapeutic topic of the week:

Depression. There are many models and theories that have had success in treating depressive symptoms. The most effective research based treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Many therapeutic methods have been studied, but cognitive-behavioral therapy is the only modality that has been shown to work effectively. In fact, treatment of depression through cognitive-behavioral methods has the capacity to produce long-lasting, permanent relief from the sadness and loneliness. Depression responds to relatively short-term therapy, depending on the severity of the condition. CBT has a good evidence base in terms of its effectiveness in reducing symptoms and preventing relapse. It has been clinically demonstrated in over 400 studies to be effective for many psychiatric disorders and medical problems for both children and adolescents.

Relaxation techniques help individuals develop the ability to more effectively cope with the stresses that contribute to depression, as well as with some of the physical symptoms of stress. The techniques taught include breath re-training and exercise. Help to bring your body and mind more regularly into a state of relaxation and calm by practicing simple relaxation exercises, ideally on a regular basis to establish a steady relaxing routine at least in part of your life. Practicing relaxation techniques can improve how you physically respond to stress by: slowing your heart rate, lowering blood pressure, slowing your breathing rate, reducing the need for oxygen, increasing blood flow to major muscles, and reducing muscle tension.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup greek yogurt

For the filling:
2½ cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream, warmed
2¼ tsp. fleur de sel

For the frosting:
1¼ cup sugar, divided
5 tbsp. water
5 tbsp. heavy cream
Generous pinch of sea salt, such as fleur de sel
5 large egg whites
3¾ sticks (30 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature


DIRECTIONS

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth. In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.


Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.


Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.


To make the filling, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has melted into a syrup. Stop stirring and gently swirl the pan, using a pastry brush dipped in water to wipe down any bits of sugar stuck to the sides of the pan. Continue to boil, swirling occasionally, until the mixture is a deep amber color and it registers 340˚ F on the thermometer. Very slowly pour in the cream in a slow, steady stream down the inside edge of the pan, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt.


Let the caramel filling mixture cool just until very slightly thickened and cool enough to handle. Carefully transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip and inject a small amount of filling directly into the center of each cupcake.


To make the caramel buttercream, place ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Mix in the water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Stop stirring and let the caramel cook, gently swirling from time to time, until it is a deep amber color, watching it carefully to avoid burning. Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream and then the salt. Set aside and let cool.


Combine the egg whites and the remaining ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.


Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more. Blend in the cooled caramel until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.


Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe a swirl of frosting on each cupcake. When you are ready to serve, top each cupcake with a salted caramel or Valrhona pearls if desired.

Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats