Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Crust
200g / 7oz chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
45g / 3tbsp butter, melted

Chocolate mousse filling
225g / 8oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
240ml / 1 cup heavy cream, cold, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut butter mousse filling
125g / 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
35g powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml / 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold

Caramel sauce
100g / 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tbsp honey or corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
30ml / 2tbsp water
60ml / 1/4 cup heavy cream
8g / 1/2 tbsp butter

Chocolate sauce

30g / 1oz semisweet chocolate

30ml / 2tbsp heavy cream

1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 20cm / 8inch pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper. 

2) To make the crust, mix together finely crushed cookies with melted butter and press down to he bottom of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

3) To make chocolate mousse filling, place copped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat 120ml (1/2 cup) of heavy cream until hot enough but not boiling! Pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. After 1 minute, stir to make a smooth ganache. Mix in the vanilla extract. Let cool slightly while you beat the cream. In a cold bowl, add the remaining 120ml of heavy cream and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix carefully until incorporated. Spread onto the prepared crust. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

4) To make the peanut butter mousse filling, mix together peanut butter, salt, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently mix the heavy cream into the peanut butter mixture. Spread over the chocolate mousse filling. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until firm.

5) To make the caramel sauce: in a medium saucepan, combine together sugar, honey or corn syrup, salt and water. Bring to boil while stirring. When it starts bubbling, stop stirring and let it turn to a light/medium amber color. At this point it will NOT look like caramel. Especially if your saucepan has a black bottom, you won't be able to see the real color so turn off the heat when it looks just slightly golden, otherwise, it will be dark and bitter. The whole browning process should take no more than 10 minutes. When you reach the desired color, remove from heat and slowly start pouring in the heavy cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the butter. Let cool. Once it has cooled, drizzle over the peanut butter mousse. Refrigerate.

6) To make the chocolate glaze, heat heavy cream until hot but not boiling. Pour over chocolate, let sit for a minute, and stir to make a smooth ganache. Let cool slightly and drizzle over the caramel.

7) Let the cake sit in the fridge overnight or at least for a few hours before slicing and serving.

Recipe by collecting memories

Dulce de Leche Blondies

Dulce de Leche Blondies

115g / 1/2 cup butter, softened
100g / 1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 can dulce de leche
185g / 1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch silicone baking dish.

2) In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and salt. Beat in dulce de leche.

3) In another bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the dulce de leche mixture and beat just until incorporated.

4) Spread evenly into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe by collecting memories

Caramel Crumb Bars with Brown Butter

Caramel Crumb Bars with Brown Butter

1 can dulce de leche 

225g (1 cup) butter

2 tsp salt

200g (1 cup) sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

375g (3 cups) flour

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Grease a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch metal baking pan or prepare a silicone baking pan.

2) In a small saucepan, place the butter and cook on medium high heat until browned and fragrant (You will see brown bits in the bottom of a saucepan. You don't want to burn it so remove it from heat when it turns golden brown).

3) Transfer the butter into a large bowl and mix in the salt and sugar. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract. 

4) Add in the flour and mix just until it's incorporated. Press half of the dough into the bottom of a pan. Spread dulce de leche on top and crumble remaining dough on top of it, pressing it slightly.

5) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely before slicing.

Recipe adapted from here. 

Apple Caramel Greek Yogurt Crumb Bars

I'm sure you all know what apple cheesecake bars are. They're everywhere on the internet. But have you heard of apple Greek yogurt bars? Nope? Well, here they are! In fact, they're just as delicious as cheesecake bars, they just have less fat and are healthier. Sounds good, right? That means, you can drizzle some more dulce de leche on top, I guess. 
Anyway, this is a MUST-MAKE fall dessert. Seriously. It has everything you crave for a cold evening: buttery oaty crumbs, cinnamon, creamy Greek yogurt filling, soft apples and warm caramel sauce on top of this goodness... Yes, they're as good as they sound. You have no excuse to not make these. 

Apple Caramel Greek Yogurt Crumb Bars 

Base and topping:
90g (1 cup) quick-cooking oats, ground
125g (1 cup) flour
110g (1/2 cup) sugar
145g (1 1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1 large apple (270g), cubed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp cinnamon
400g Greek yogurt
55g (1/4 cup) sugar
1 egg
30g flour

Caramel sauce:
Dulce de leche
Some milk

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

1) Make the base & crumbs: mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add butter. Mix using your fingertips until crumbs form. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a 20x20cm (8x8inch) baking dish. Reserve 1/3 for the topping. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2) Make the filling: First, mix apple cubes with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside. In another bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, sugar, egg and flour. Pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle apples on top (do not press!) and sprinkle crumb topping (don't press as well. It will stick together while baking). 

3) Bake in a 180C (350F) preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until set. 

4) Make the caramel sauce: Mix a few tablespoons of dulce de leche and a few tablespoons of milk in a small saucepan. Heat and stir to make it smooth. You may add more/less milk according to your preference. I suggest making the sauce just before serving. I like keeping the bars in the fridge and then drizzle with warm caramel sauce. Yum.

Recipe by collecting memories

Salted Carmelitas

You probably already know carmelitas which have been quite popular in the blogosphere recently. Now I know why! This is an amazing dessert, really. Imagine a chewy buttery oat bar filled with milk chocolate chips and salted caramel. You shouldn't eat more than two at once, even though it's hard to resist. 

Salted Carmelitas

120ml/1/2 cup half-and-half
30 caramels
1/3 tsp salt
150g unsalted butter, melted
125g/1 cup flour
125g/1 cup old fashioned oats
150g/3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
100g milk chocolate, chopped

1) In a small saucepan over low heat, combine together caramels, 1/3 tsp salt and half and half. Stir until completely smooth and set aside.

2) In a bowl, combine together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, 1/2 tsp salt and baking soda. Press down half of the mixture into the bottom of an 20x20cm baking pan. Bake at 180C for 5 minutes.

3) Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle milk chocolate chips over the crust. Pour caramel sauce over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake for additional 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.

Recipe adapted from here.

Pop Tarts

 With apple-cinnamon filling

 With strawberry jam filling

 With poppy seed filling

 With banana filling

Pastry
2 cups (340g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg
2-3 tablespoons milk

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary. Refrigerate while you prepare the fillings. 

Remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 3mm thick (I rolled it into ~25x33cm rectangle). Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut dough into 20 rectangles. (I didn't get 20 rectangles so  I re-rolled the trimmings).

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork. Refrigerate the tarts  for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.

The amounts of ingredients are for 2 pop tarts each. Just mix the ingredients of different fillings in separate bowls and fill the tarts:

Caramel Filling:

2 tbsp homemade caramel

1/3 tsp flour

sea salt for topping

Apple-cinnamon filling:

1/3 medium apple, cut into cubes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp honey

1 tsp dark molasses sugar

Poppy seed filling:

2 tbsp ground poppy seeds

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp butter, melted

Stawberry jam filling: 

2 tbsp organic strawberry jam

1/3 tsp cornstarch

Banana filling:

1 small banana, ripe

1 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp flour 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!