Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

I'll admit it, I love salt over sweet. I'll take salty chips on occasion over treats most any day of the week. However, when it comes to caramel, I could polish off a batch of homemade caramel myself! We had friends over for dinner and I was craving chocolate cake with either chocolate frosting or salted caramel icing. After perusing a few recipes I took inspiration from a Southern Living recipe, coupled with a Bon Appetit recipe and adjusted and came up with my own rendition. End result, a much better salted caramel butter cream product. Less meringue tasting, not too intensely salty; just the right amount. And a huge bonus in my book, it didn't dirty every known dish in our kitchen...!



Making a quick caramel with sugar, salt and water. Cooking it undisturbed until it got to the desired amber color.



One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my infrared digital thermometer. Holly picked this up for me several years ago. When I started taking up candy making at home, the need for precise temperate, while stirring was crucial. I made a water bath in a both with the kitchen aid mixer bowl and whisked egg whites with granulated sugar until it came to 140 degrees to ensure no food borne illness etc.



Whipping the egg whites until hard peaks are formed.



Adding the cooled caramel sauce to the whipped egg whites.



Beating and beating and beating this mixture, while adding butter, one tablespoon at a time. To get it to this consistency I always add powdered sugar. I find from scratch swiss meringue style butter cream is on the runny side and does not hold it's shape when piped. The powdered sugar ensures it will hold it's piped look and feel.



The finished product with some Maldon sea salt flakes for garnish. Even the texture of the from scratch chocolate cake was good. It was a new recipe I tried. Next time I'll add some sour cream to the batter to keep it a tad more moist for the days following.

Dan's Salted Caramel Buttercream

1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40 mL) heavy cream
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1. Put 1/4 cup of sugar and water in saucepan over medium-high heat. Do not stir of you will get sugar crystals, but you can swirl the saucepan gently. It will bubble itself into a deep amber. Remove immediately from heat and add cream (careful - it will bubble up furiously). Stir until smooth and set aside.

2. Put the egg whites, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar in a heatproof stand mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 140 degrees. Best to use infrared thermometer. Transfer to stand mixer once temperature is reached. It's fine to start whisking hot. The incorporation of air will cool the mixture down.

3. Beat on high until stiff peaks form. Add butter one tablespoon at a time, and continue beating on medium. Reduce speed to low, add vanilla extract, and then caramel. Beat for 4-5 minutes. Mixture will look like it is separating, but then it comes back together. Add powdered sugar to get butter cream to desired consistency.

Meeting Laura Does London

I'm not really a girly girl. I don't like a lot of make up, I have no patience for hair-do's, I love clothes, but don't always love to window shop, I'm all about buying and moving on to the next place. So while Dan's sister was visiting us we all went shopping and I was introduced to Sephora. Now, I've been in a Sephora before (I don't live under a rock), but found my self overstimulated so I bolted. This time however, Rebecca was busy checking out the latest "Laura Does London" (new to me lip gloss line) so I looked around.

I did a few things I never do when shopping, first I asked for help. I decided I wanted a new perfume and had seen something in a magazine about one with pomegranate in it, the woman wasn't sure what I meant but was very helpful taking me around and showing me different options. The second thing I did was let her talk to me for more than 2 minutes which resulted in me finding two perfumes I liked and being able to take samples home to try before I buy. It was great.

I probably won't pick up any purple or green lip gloss, or glitter eyeliner, but I'd go back again since they were helpful and not pushy. After our visit to the store I promptly told Dan how lucky he was that I wasn't so into that stuff or our our money would probably vanish out of our savings account, because like I said, I do love to buy.

The Monster Ball

While the Lady GaGa concert was amazing, controversial, over-the-top, creative, obnoxious and clever all rolled into one, we all walked away with varying opinions on the evening. She's known for shock value and she definitely delivered! I had a fantastic time with Holly and Rebecca. Lots of energy with the 20K sold out stadium. Dancing, singing along and screaming. It was a fun and interesting time.

David & Ziggy

This has been a fantastic CD to add to the Craven household music repertoire. The whole CD is full of top hits. I particularly like the joint project with Nine Inch Nails, "I'm Afraid of Americans." China Girl. Fashion. Modern Love. It's got all the good stuff on this, including some Ziggy Stardust tracks.

Shout out

It's been a while but I wanted to say how proud I am of Dan for his weight loss and healthy lifestyle reform (Go Da-an, you're so awe-some...insert cheer-leading moves here). He really has and is motivating me and I'm thankful to him for that. I've also been impressed by my friend who recently participated in the Danskin triathlon. I am considering joining her next year but need to get on a bike with actual wheels and try my hand at swimming again before I can decide, both of which I haven't done since high school. So we'll see, I'm not considering this a full commitment yet, stay tuned.

A Goldfrapp Inundation

So, I could be content and happy listening to music 24/7, every day, for the rest of my life. I LOVE music, and can't seem to get enough of it. I like all types, but typically am a sucker for fast paced pop alternative. My sister Rebecca was up here this past weekend for the Lady GaGa concert at the Tacomadome. She introduced Holly and I to a bunch of tracks from three Goldfrapp albums. Needless to say, while we were listening to the music at home, I was downloading music on my iPhone while we conversed I LOVE it...!



Rocket, Believer & Alive. Excellent tracks. This whole CD is my favorite.



Ooh La La, Lovely 2 C U, Timeout From the World & Number 1. Excellent tracks.



A fantastic CD as well. I have more music to add to my work out and running routines. She reminds me of a cross between Kylie Monogue, Oliva Newton-John and Metric. What's NOT to like about this music.

Honey Sweetened Pineapple

It's definitely a full canning season again. This is really something that I enjoy doing for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost, I like to ensure the quality of the food that I'm eating. In that vein, canning my own products ensures no additives or preservatives. Secondarily, canning and creating in the kitchen makes me feel close to my deceased mother. The time I spend in the kitchen, reading her recipes, adjusting them or following them exactly, makes me feel like she is right there with me, chatting and laughing, just like we did when she was alive. So for many reasons; memories, food quality and long term food storage, this is a hobby / talent that I enjoy.



This recipe has fresh pineapple, lemon juice and a honey syrup. I try to stay away from refined sugar as much as possible. For this canning project, I purchased some local blueberry honey. The taste with pineapple is naturally sweet. Holly and I both look forward to having this fresh fruit in the long winter months when fresh fruit is scare, and we don't want to pay a fortune for it to be shipped off season.

Mustard Pickles & Spicy Red Pepper Relish

I really enjoy canning and putting twists on traditional family recipes. One of my favorites as a child was Mustard Pickles. The pickled cauliflower, red peppers, onions and cucumbers in the tangy mustard sauce was always a nice accompaniment at Sunday dinners of pot roast, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and home made rolls. This family recipe always immediately transports me back to my childhood. The recipe started out with my Great Grandma on the Craven side, and has been passed down through my Grandma Craven, my Mom who made these for my Dad, and now my generation. Just slight recipe adjustments. Gone are the measurements of "a half bushel of this, a handful of that" to more precise measurements of cups or quarts. But the end product still has the century old flavor that four generations have come to enjoy.



Prepping the vegetables for an overnight salt soak.



Starting the slow simmer of the vinegar mustard sauce.



Adding the spices and the flour to thickener for the right consistency.



A quick cook of the vegetables in the prepared sauce, prior to water bath processing.









I love the bright golden yellow color of the finished product. And I really love how home preserved food looks in glass jars.



I also was in the mood for a spicy relish of some sort for a condiment when we grill chicken sausages or brats. I like sweet pickle relish in small quantities, and prefer more the spicy version or savory version of relishes. I looked at some family recipes, and a few of my canning cookbooks, and came up with my own newer version. Swapping out the pickles for all red bell peppers. Omitting sugar, and adding more spice like hot sauce, poblano, ancho powder and lots of onions and garlic. The vinegar had to be adjusted so it could be preserved. And I put in a small amount of honey to give it a sweet bite. This turned out great. Just the right amount of heat during the initial taste.



The mound of vegetables, prior to prepping.



The easiest prep for vegetables is in a food processor. I love mine.






Cooking the vegetables down for a few minutes and adding the vinegar and spices to get ready to water bath process.









The finished product ready for my food storage shelves in the basement. And probably a few holiday gifts as well.



Loved how the multi-color red peppers looked in the jars post water bath. The bits of ancho chills suspended in the other pepper and onion mixture looks fantastic.



In my uptight urbanite nature, Holly is always so good to make me custom labels for all my canning projects so they can truly be 100% professional looking. Her graphic design talent, with my culinary talents always makes a superb combination. We are a fantastic team.



Another view of the custom labels.

The Book Thief

I just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is a young adult novel about how a young girl's love of books helps a community survive World War II and the Holocaust. I REALLY enjoyed this book. Mostly because of the unique perspective it was written in, narrated by death. I thought this would be a good book to read as Dan and I prepare to go to Munich, particularly to the Dachau concentration camp as the book is set in that area. I'll warn you, there is some swearing but most of it is in German so I didn't really know how to pronounce the words or know what they meant so it didn't stick. I'll also warn you that it will make you cry, but feel good all in the same moment.

Today I'm going to start reading The Holy Temple by Boyd K. Packer. I'm trying to do a better job at balancing fiction (my escape) and personal enlightenment through church books.

Boston Revisited

We were in Boston in April 2009 it was cold, it was windy, rainy and snowy. We vowed we would love to go back to this lovely part of the country...but in the fall to see the beautiful leaves changing. Well, we made it back, but not in the fall. Instead we had polar opposite weather, it was hot, it was humid but still rainy and windy! So why were we there? Well, for the best reason ever. Our friend Jefferson who was baptized in our church a year ago was going to go through the LDS temple in Boston for the first time and be sealed to his wife, allowing their bond and love to last eternally. We wouldn't have missed it for anything, not even heat and humidity could keep us away!

We flew into Logan airport on a Thursday night and were met by Jefferson who volunteered to be our living GPS system. We got the rental car and drove to Merrimack New Hampshire where they live enjoying ample time to get caught up being in rush hour traffic! We ate at a cute place for dinner called The Common Man, they had excellent food. After dinner we visited Erika and the kids, got settled and crashed in bed.

The next morning Dan and I went out for a walk with the best intentions of getting in some exercise. Even though it was a little muggy, we had a good walk and enjoyed the beauty around us with all the trees and the horseshoe shaped pond that they live on.



That afternoon we went to another pond, Walden Pond. It was lovely. We walked around the circumference, which for you Seattle folks can liken to Greenlake but without a paved trail. We were on dirt, climbing up and over tree roots. All in my flip flops.



But it was worth the blister between my toes. We saw the replica of Thoreau's cabin, the rubble where the cabin used to be, some cool trees and other beautiful scenery.






Just as we were getting back to the car the sky opened and dumped rain on us. That meant we had to rule out the outdoor museum we were headed to next and instead ate ice cream in a down pour. It was super tasty and very memorable!

The next day was the big day. It was beautiful seeing the temple again, being inside and witnessing the blessing of two people so happy together. The experience really impacted me, reminding me of the day Dan and I were married and sealed for eternity as well. Of course afterward there were pictures. Lots and LOTS of pictures!







Dan and I found a place to eat a granola bar, smell the flowers, cool off in the shade and of course...facebook!







And even air out our feet :)



That evening we got together with Jefferson and Erika's friends for dinner and enjoyed good conversation and good food. Sunday was spent at church and then a drive out to Peterborough, a quaint little town in New Hampshire.




They even had a crazy painted car to help Dan and I feel like we were back home in Seattle.



I had fun discovering some of the towns details.








Because every town needs a giant ape in the window.



I also noticed this following us.



But we didn't care. We sat at a park by a stream with a funny man made waterfall thing taking the stream under the road. Up stream we found a dam to walk across, and then the rain found us.








The sun came out and we were all happy again.






Our last day of the trip we said goodbye to our friends and headed to Boston. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for our super quick run through town!





We found a random macaroni noodle. I had to have a photo.



Then there was Mike's Bakery...YUM! Old North Church, a random farmers market, shopping on Newbury street and relaxing time in Boston Common.














If you made it this far. Wow. Sorry for the long post, but we really did cram a lot in on our 5 day trip to the northeast! And of course, we'll have to do it all again, maybe next fall, to see the leaves!