I should have known things were doomed when I pulled out what I thought was parchment paper only to see it was actually wax paper just as my caramel was ready to be poured. Of course! My panicked solution? Asking Andrew to butter a dish while holding the hot saucepan in one hand and my face in the other. Cutting the caramel into perfect little squares after it cooled clearly wasn't going to happen but I was relieved to have (semi) successfully made caramel for wannabe caramel candies.
Using Smitten Kitchen's Salted Caramel Brownies recipe, I upped the salt content, but only by a pinch or two, to cut some of the inevitable sweetness. Everything would have been fine from here had I employed some common sense; ergo, caramel melts → mini-muffin pans are shallow → don't fill the pan so damn high.
Each bite had the perfect balance of sticky, salty-sweet caramel and rich, dark chocolate goodness. I mean, they were mouthwatering. I honestly could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting if they weren't headed to my in-laws as Sunday dinner's dessert. I served them warmed and topped with vanilla custard. SO, so good. I will definitely make these brownies again, being sure to forgo the mini-muffin pan. Having all-edge pieces was a delicious result, but I think a square pan is ideal.
I debated having an entire post dedicated to these Salted Caramel Brownies but I think it's important to showcase your (my) failures and laugh at yourself (myself). Don't you? Obviously everything I make in my kitchen isn't a masterpiece (I wish!) and some things can be so painfully simple, I'll think "why am I putting so much effort into styling this food right now?" Yet here I am.
Things could have gotten way worse. I could have set off all the smoke detectors from the dripping caramel oozing off of the mini-muffin pan onto the bottom of the oven, the dripping caramel causing the apartment to go up in flames—is that even possible? Or I could have sliced a few fingers off while improperly holding my chef's knife chopping chocolate intended for Tsokolate (Filipino hot chocolate)!
Now I'm thinking I could have gotten away with no one knowing about this, besides Andrew, if it weren't for this post... What's the worst damage you've caused in the kitchen? How did you recover?
I can't think of my biggest fail in kitchen, but the most recent one was just last week when I finally got to making some pasta alfredo after dreaming about it for weeks. I was just finishing the sauce by pouring a huge pile of grated parmesan on the pan - just to realize that it had gone moldy! So much for that sauce. Of course I had also used all the cream I had, so I ended up with a pretty weird dinner.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! Spoiled dairy is the worst! I've totally done that before. We don't use too much actual milk other than for certain recipes and I almost always forget to do a sniff test before pouring. And when it comes to cheese, it's always gone bad on the non-visible side where I've set out my ingredients. D'oh!
DeleteSomewhat related, last week I made spaghetti carbonara and I was so afraid of my eggs not cooking all the way through. It was a pretty nervous meal.
Disaster or no, the finished product on the plate looks delicious!! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, thank you! They were seriously tasty. I just couldn't get over how much of a hassle those little brownies ended up being!
DeleteI've made those brownies! That caramel is fiddly. It warmed up quite quickly as I was cutting it so they were all in big chunks rather than neat squares. Then the caramel melted into the brownie as it baked so I didn't have those lovely pools of caramel that SK had in her pictures. But they were delicious, so I coped.
ReplyDeleteUgh, what a hassle! I'm glad to hear from someone else that maybe all this disaster nonsense may have had something to with the actual recipe and not just me being absentminded! There were so good though. I'm willing to try again.
DeleteWow, this made me look up that brownie recipe and request my bf (a pastry chef) to make them for me! But wow so glad I found this and not only for the baking part but the spot on make up reviews.
ReplyDeleteI purchased a few items that were listed on various entries. I picked up the Rimmel Nude eyeliner and used it on my water line, it really brightened up my eyes. I saw that you use the Elf eye primer, and its so cheap, and might be almost as good as my UD Primer which costs a small fortune. I also purchased the Rimmel gel eyeliner to try and was very impressed. I haven't tried a eye liner like that since I was a teenager and I have to say I am much better at applying it now and can't wait to wear it out. I also loved the advice about the Target Sonia eye shadows. I thought maybe I'll hold out and buy the UD Naked palette again or maybe the Lorac Pro set. What do you think?
Oh, lucky you with your own personal pastry chef! I'm almost embarrassed a pro saw this post.
DeleteI'm so glad my reviews and tips have been helpful and led to some purchases you don't totally regret. That's really great to hear/read! Though I normally try to only showcase things I enjoy and believe in, sometimes you have to talk about the negatives (like the SK palettes from Target). When it comes to the UD Naked vs LORAC Pro Palette, I totally vote LORAC 100%! Ulta has the Rockin' Red Hot PRO Set right now for only $39, which comes with the palette, a mini primer, AND a full size liquid liner. If I didn't already have the palette, I would have snatched up that set in an instant. UD is $52 which is a great deal for the amount of product but, to me, it's so much of the same. So much that I actually bought it and returned it!
I hope this helps and I'm so glad to have you as a reader! xoxo
It's so important to realize that every time you get upset, it drains your emotional energy.
ReplyDeleteThank you to sharing very important information to us.