110 replies to this topic

[Belle]

Hey lady, you didn't say nothing about sticks in the challenge announcement! You said Caramel and Apples. You gonna make us all stick things in our stuff now?

My original recipe included sticks! And I only listed caramel and apples because I mean INGREDIENT-WISE that's what you need to use.

Ok ok, if everyone wants to abolish the sticks, then we abolish the sticks.

[Rachel217]

So it's ix-nay on the ick-stays? Even better! *reverts to Plan A recipe*

[Belle]

Hmph

[agent220]

Dessert for Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan: Caramel Apple Pie

[adiel]

A lot of things crossed my mind as I was thinking about this challenge. Among them was to do something completely new with the way caramel apples are done while sticking to the traditional ‘apples in caramel’ concept of this recipe.

First off, I wanted the recipe to be about the apple. The caramel and décor is all there to elevate and enjoy the actual apple. Too many people get carried away with how they go about making the caramel and they forget to pick out top notch apples. In choosing the right kind of apple, you need to rule out the obvious. Red delicious apples are mainly just pretty, very sweet, and not ‘apple’ enough for this dish. Granny Smith apples are too tart and best used in tart baking. So I bought a Gala, Braeburn, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Fuji to taste and decide which would be best with caramel on top.


Braeburn – mild, a little tart, dry
Golden Delicious – very similar to the Red Delicious, but yummier.
Honeycrisp – best apple in the world, but couldn’t be found in my local supermarket. Maybe Trader Joe’s?
Fuji – although fresh, it was mushy and bland
Gala – nada


In the end I picked 2: the Golden Delicious for its flavor and the Granny Smith (which I ruled out at first) because I figured that the tartness in contrast with the sweet caramel will make for super experience.

Second, I decided to completely eliminate some features of the typical caramel apple. As far as I know, no one eats the entire apple - especially after a meal. Most people eat a lot of the caramelized outside and throw away the rest. What a waste of apple! And even if people will eat the entire apple, the core of the apple with all of its seeds and so forth is a turn off. So I decided to CORE the apple and cut the rest into slices. That helps for to remove the ‘turn off’ which is the core and its seeds and helps for portion control after a big meal too.

Last, I wanted this to be super easy with simple ingredients that a person can multiply if they need more and also give the dish maker all the décor options they want without limitations. So no ‘making caramel from scratch’ and no large amounts of it that requires a person to keep it boiling in a pot requiring to watch that the temperature doesn’t go over or under. Just simple ‘apples and caramels’.





So I went out and bought caramels. The only ones I could find were from Kraft and they are dairy. So this greatly limits when it can be eaten. Maybe when a parve caramel comes out (or if someone makes their own), this recipe can be made to eat after a meat meal.
So here is the recipe and instructions on how to make this really easy dish.

Adiel’s Caramel Apple Slices
1 Granny Smith Apple
~13 caramels per apple
2tsp milk


Melt 20 caramels over a small flame until they are stir-able liquid.




Core and cut the apples into slices immediately prior to pouring caramel to the top of the apples. Don’t let the apples turn brown.




Place apple slice on a rack and spoon caramel onto the apple. You can use the drippings for second and third coat on your apple. When done, apply a décor of your choice and let drip dry. Serve only with dairy equipment or meal.





The first time I did this, it was a FLOP (but tasted awesome). The caramel burned and chunks of it could be seen on the slice of apple as in first pic of the dish. The second time around I added 2 tsp of milk (which wasn’t there the first time I made this) and it helped melt the caramel into something creamier and smoother. See second pic where caramel is nice and clean and I added a stick in honor of the Belle’s wishes.






I hope you all learned from my experiences. Good luck on your own!

[Red Hare]

There are no pareve caramels, nor CY caramels, unless you count the stuff in the jar.

[Xi]

Wow guys. Thanks so much for sharing (those of you who have so far). While I'm not usually one for cooking threads, seeing people's take on something so simple, and seeing the 'journey' to get it perfect is really interesting! So thanks again!

[agent220]

I used the stuff in the jar -- Baker's Choice -- so I could make a pareve dish. I'm not really part of this competition as I am working 6 hours a day at the office, another hour at night from home, have a handful of kids, supper, dishes, and all that jazz: so I figured I could cheat like that. I chose Granny Smith apples for their tartness. Added in a TBSP of balsalmic vinegar and a 1/2 C of the caramel sauce with about 6 apples peeled and sliced. Stuck in between 2 thawed pie crusts, and baked at 425 for 35 minutes on the bottom rack.

[LoveToLaugh]

snip

All was done while wife was fleishig. Not fair.

[Belle]

Gorgeous stuff!! I'll try to post mine tonight if baby lets.

I am loving this!!

[justbatya]

we have till the end of the month, right?

[Belle]

we have till the end of the month, right?

Yup. But if you want to do the optional mid-month Challenge you might want to pace yourself. But it's up to you.

[Belle]

So I went with Caramel Apple Cream Puffs. It was hard to find a recipe online that had caramel and apples, because most Google searches yielded candy apples (which was my original intent, but then with the "stick confusion" I decided to go ahead and try something else too).

It was a couple of steps, but each one was quick and easy. I'll be copying/pasting the recipe from here.

Make a cream puff paste(aka pata a choux):

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 c. water
1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
4 eggs, slightly beaten

1. Place the butter or margarine and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir until the butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and immediately add the flour and salt. Stir constantly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and begins to form a ball. Let sit until room temperature, about 5 minutes.

2. Slowly pour the eggs into the pan while stirring constantly. Stir until smooth. Spread into a greased 13×9 casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until puffed and golden brown all over. Cool.

This part was easy and took about 10 minutes total, or less.

 dough.jpg   81.41K   20 downloads

For the caramel apple layer:
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 red apples, cubed
1/3 c. whole milk or heavy cream

1. In a large skillet or sauce pan, melt the butter with the sugars. Cook for 5 minutes, until thickened. Add the apples and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the apples are softened. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon and layer on top of the cream puff base.

This part got a bit messy when I dumped the apples into the caramel and the caramel clumped up and hardened. I removed the apples, and cooked the caramel even longer to ensure that it was totally smooth, and returned the apples and cooked them til soft, and then layered them like the directions say to.

 caramel.JPG   56.57K   43 downloads

 cut up apples.JPG   50.18K   23 downloads

 caramelizing apples.JPG   63.18K   22 downloads

 layered in pan.JPG   67.54K   21 downloads

2. Cook the caramel mixture another 3 minutes. Slowly stir in the milk or cream and bring to a slow boil. Let boil until thickened to a creamy caramel consistency that coats the back of a spoon, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. It should thicken a bit more as it stands. Pour over the apples in the casserole dish. Cool completely.

This was simple.

 poured caramel.JPG   71.94K   23 downloads

For the creamy layer:

1 3.9 oz. package French vanilla pudding
1 1/2 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 t. cinnamon

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Spread over the cooled caramel apple layer. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

So this part totally didn't work out, aesthetic-wise, although it tastes perfectly fine. First of all, I only found a packet of regular vanilla pudding, and it was 3.25 ounces. I put in slightly less milk to compensate for that, but it was still very watery and didn't really pudding-ize. And secondly, I didn't let the cream cheese soften enough, and even though I whisked it very well, it was clumpy as you'll see in the photo below. I put it into the freezer for awhile as per someone's suggestion, and it firmed up a bit, but not pudding-like. But as I said, it tastes delicious anyway.

 clumpy pudding (2).JPG   65.47K   22 downloads

For the topping:
1 8 oz. container whipped dairy topping, thawed
1/2 small jar caramel ice cream topping
Sliced pecans
1. Spread the whipped topping on top of the pudding layer. Drizzle with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate until serving.

I whipped up a container of whipped cream, drizzled on the caramel that I purchased, and put the pecans on. Easy.

 caramel pecan layer.JPG   59.87K   18 downloads

And the finished product:

 finished slice top.JPG   49.09K   28 downloads

 finished slice side.jpg   47.9K   30 downloads

It tastes delicious, and it really was not hard at all.

[Belle]

ok, I have no clue what's going on with my pictures.

[TheDuncePolice]

.

[moe says]

Ok ok, if everyone wants to abolish the sticks, then we abolish the sticks.

BLASPHEMY!!

[LoveToLaugh]

Agent - looks great!

Adiel - wow, such a well-thought out (and photo-documented) post...nice job.

Belle - looks fantastic. you better not give away my piece.


LTL - are you going to be making something also, or are you piggybacking on the hub's entry?


Is anyone actually doing a traditional caramel apple (aside from me)?

I still want to do it if I have the time. Hopefully next week.

[Spot]

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