Salted Caramel Buttercream

Assalamualaikum

After the last post, I think I should share the recipe for the Salted Caramel Buttercream. One thing for sure, this buttercream is SUPER SWEET.I mean…it is caramel… Combining it with cakes that are also sweet would be a disaster! So thank goodness my chocolate cake is on the less sweet side.

Salted Caramel Buttecream

1/3 cup of salted Caramel sauce (recipe here)

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup shortening (room temperature)

3 cup icing sugar

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and shortening for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is fluffy.
2. Mix in the salted caramel sauce until well combined
3. Add the icing sugar ½ cup at a time. Taste the buttercream as you go. Mix well. 

Because we use less sugar than usual, it may be less stiff than usual.  Although the consistency is still perfect for piping, you can see how the buttercream is shinier and may be more sensitive to heat.

I decided to go for a simple swirl design for this cake. Decorating a cake in Malaysia can be pretty daunting. The heat melts everything! On the other hand, my salted caramel sauce stiffens reallllllly quickly here. Haih..what to do..Either I have to start piping my buttercream in the fridge when I’m in Malaysia, or pipe my salted caramel on the heater when I’m in Montreal…You do what you gotta do....

Here are some pictures of my first ever dessert table...

Thanks Farhana for the pictures! I feel so happy today...for unknown reasons..Alhamdulillah for everything. For the today's sunshine, today's meals, family's love,opportunities and everything else. Have you thanked our Lord today?:)

Take care, Wasalam.

Love,
Sofhan Hasni

Salted Caramel Sauce

Assalamualaikum!

Today was a beautiful day. I got to wear my skirt out! Yeay! I love wearing skirts. It’s all girly and feminine. I don’t know where I’m going with this…

A couple of weeks back; I was given the honor to decorate a dessert table. I was ecstatic! Too excited for my own good. =D I know I wanted to make a big cake because I wouldn't bake big cakes unless I have an occasion to serve them. Of course this is the perfect opportunity to try new recipes. What goes with chocolate? I know. Salted Caramel; it’s so delicious and requires only a couple of ingredients, can be eaten on buttered toast in the morning, can be drizzled on ice creams or brownies, or be turned into a scrumptious buttercream. So here is the recipe for a basic salted caramel sauce…

Original recipe: here

Salted Caramel

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of (salted/non-salted/semi salted) butter, cut into small cubes

½ cup of heavy cream/whipping cream

1 teaspoon of salt

1. Put the sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir using a wooden spoon.
2. Melt the sugar until it is golden brown.
3. Stir in the cubed butter until it melts.
4. Then, add the cream into the sauce pan and mix well. Let it boil for about 1 minute.
5. Turn off the heat and mix in the salt.

The sauce may bubble throughout, so be careful! I don’t think it matters what kind of butter you use. If you use salted butter, and you don’t like extreme saltiness, reduce the amount of salt.or add more if you think it is not enough,it's your call. Let it cool a bit and be careful when you try your sauce. The smarty-pants me burned my tongue. Also, although the original recipe uses spatula, make sure yours can actually handle the heat!Mine melted!SO I had to re-do the recipe. Hah!=p

Here I made cake balls or I like to call them cake truffles using my salted caramel buttercream (recipe here) and drizzle the salted caramel sauce on top. YUM! Perfect as gifts or bite size dessert!

Its sunny out, go and take in all the sun!=D

Wasalam,

Till then.

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Blueberry Cheese Tarts

Assalamualaikum!

I haven’t blogged in awhile.phew, being in your last year of uni is no fun! Fall semester came and went, and now hopefully, my last semester. I want to enjoy being a student while I still can... J

I just got back from a quick getaway to Quebec City. I freaking love that quaint little town. The architecture, the food, the view..It would've been lovelier if it wasn't snowing and my hands and feet weren't frozen!! We strolled through the Lower side of Old Quebec City; we went to the Ice Hotel, and also the Montmorency Falls. It was frozen. So I can finally tell people that I've seen a frozen waterfall. It was still so Magnificent!  Being such aunties that we are, we wouldn't leave that city without stopping at J.A Moisan. It is the oldest grocery store in North America. Boy, I wish I could just live there, right in the tea cookie section. It was BEAUTIFUL! I died and went to food heaven. I had to stop myself from getting more things that I don’t need. I convinced myself that I need these babies. I can just imagine them in my future kitchen. In between the big red porcelain cookie jar and my sexy red Kitchen Aid mixer. Hah! Okay the imagining part was a lie. But really...I know I would soooo regret not buying them. So I did. Now everyone knows where all my money went. =)

 Anyways, let’s start talking about desserts shall we? Whenever my older siblings went to their orthodontics appointments when we were younger, I always LONGED for the blueberry cheese tarts that were sold in a bakery near our orthodontists’. It was and still is a favorite of mine.It’s funny how I don’t think I like nor would I bake a blueberry cheesecakes, but for some reasons, I simply adore these tarts. Maybe it's the size? It’s one of my mum’s favorite too. So I can’t wait to make her some once I head back home. (Hi mom!)

Blueberry Cheese Tarts

20 Tart shells

1 cup(250g) of cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup(250ml) of whipped cream

½ cup of sugar

about ¼ cup of blueberry jam

Food coloring (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit and blind bake the shells for 15 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown. Set aside
2. In a big bowl, using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar until well incorporated.
3. In another bowl, whip the cream until the peaks are firm.
4. Slowly mix the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture together.Set aside.
5. Scoop about a half tablespoon of blueberry jam into the cooked tart shells. Then, dollop some of the cream cheese mixture onto the jam layer. Even the top of the cheese tarts using the back of a spoon or butter knife.
6. To create any designs, take some of the cream cheese mixture and add some food coloring in a separate bowl.
7. Using tooth picks or bamboo skewers, slowly create your designs on each of the cheese tarts.
8. Refrigerate for an hour or more to let the cheese tarts firm up.

You can definitely substitute the blueberry jam for strawberry jam or marmalade even. This recipe is incredibly easy. If you are serving this at an event,everything can be made earlier on and assembled on the day of. As usual I am not even ashamed of admitting that I used a store bought tart shells. I bought these shells in Provigo. Those are one of the things that I wouldn't waste my time on.  Please.. the extra hour or two to make those tart shells can be spent...well..napping =P

It's already Wednesday!Half of our reading week came and went, the amount of things need to be done is still a mountain high. Lord give us strength!Amin.

Wasalam.

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni