Category Archives: Random shizz

Salted Caramel Sauce

Posted in Desserts, Random shizz by

Silky smooth homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that uses only 4 ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes!

Silky smooth homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that uses only 4 ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes!

So rich. So smooth. So creamy.

This is my go to recipe for Salted Caramel Sauce with all the tips and tricks to get it right every single time!

No thermometers, no fancy equipment needed. Just four basic ingredients and a whole lotta patience.

Lets go!

HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

To make the salted caramel, add granulated sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir to prevent the sugar from burning. The sugar will slowly start to melt and brown.

Once the sugar has completely melted, it will start to change color quite rapidly. As soon as its turns golden amber, carefully add butter to the sauce pan. Once the butter has melted, slowly pour in the cream. There may be some splashing due to the difference in temperature. Let the caramel simmer for a minute. Remove the caramel from heat and add the salt. This part is always a bit subjective. If you prefer regular sweet caramel to the salted variety add in about ¼ of a teaspoon to start, while for salted, I start with ½ a teaspoon and then adjust from there until I get the flavor I like. You can always add more salt but you cannot take away if you add too much!

Leave the caramel to cool down to room temperature. The caramel will continue to thicken. Pour cooled caramel into a jar and store in the fridge. The salted caramel will thicken as it cools, so just zap it in the microwave before using if you want it a little more ‘drizzle’ consistency.

Silky smooth homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that uses only 4 ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes!

The trick with making caramel sauce is in cooking the sugar just right.

The darker the sugar gets, the more intense caramel flavor your sauce will have. Too light and your sauce will be pale in color and taste like straight sugar. Too dark and your sauce will have a bitter taste that will ruin everything.

So as soon as the sugar reaches that picture perfect caramel shade, add the butter, immediately followed by the cream.

Below are some more tips to make the perfect salted caramel sauce every single time.

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE:

  • Use a heavy bottom and tall pan. Stainless steel works better than a nonstick pan because you’ll need to see the color of the mixture.

  • I do not recommend making any substitutions to this recipe. For example, do not substitute granulated sugar with icing sugar nor brown sugar. It just won’t work.

  • Take care not to add the cream to the sugar prematurely. If you do, the result will be more like sweetened condensed milk.

  • Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go when you start making the sauce.

  • Always keep an eye on it because the caramel knows when you’re not looking and will burn as revenge.

USES FOR SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Once you have a batch of salted caramel on hand, you will want to drizzle it over everything! Over brownies and apple pie bars, over waffles and pancakes.

You can use it as a filling in cakes and cupcakes, or make salted caramel frosting. You can add a dollop to your coffee or you can eat it by the spoonful…

The options are endless!

Salted Caramel Sauce

Yields: 1 cup
Ingredients:
·         1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
·         6 Tbsp (90g) salted butter, room temperature cut up into small pieces
·         1/2 cup (120ml) cream
·         1/2 to 1 tsp salt
Directions:
  1. Heat sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Sugar will start to clump together and after about 5 minutes it will melt completely into a thick amber liquid. Be careful not to let the sugar burn.
  2. Once you get the right color, immediately add in the pats of butter. Mixture will bubble up.
  3. Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted.
  4. Slowly pour in the cream while stirring. There will be more bubbling and splattering in this step so again, be careful.
  5. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Let the sauce cool in the saucepan before transferring to a jar to store in the fridge. Caramel solidifies in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
Notes:
Covered tightly, this sauce lasts in the fridge for up to 1 month, and up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and then warm up before using.
Adjust salt according to taste.
Recipe adapted from allrecipes
Advertisement

Shepherd’s Macaroni Pie

Posted in Ramadan, Random shizz, Savoury by
Happy 2018 everyone!
(let’s just pretend the last 10 days didn’t happen :p)
I hope you guys had a wonderful winter break. My sisters are back in school and I’m home alone again in an early-January post-resolutions funk.  I hope you are having better luck keeping track of your resolutions. My ‘eating healthy’ one got stumped on day one.
No surprise there.
I have been trying to get back into a somewhat balanced diet routine after gorging on waffles and carrot cake all of last week, and I have started going on regular walks with my mother, so that feels good.
My work/study perspective still needs sorting out and I still need to decide on what I want to do with my life.
.
.
But other than that it’s going okay.
I have a good feeling about this year. I really do. 😀
 This Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. #Pie #ShepherdPie

 

This bleak and dreary weather calls for some serious comfort food and starting off the blank slate of the year with something rich and indulgent just feels right.

And what could be more indulgent then a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes + macaroni + rich meat filling all together in the form of a pie.

 

 

This Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. #Pie #ShepherdPieThis Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. My family loved it and I’m sure yours will too.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is my over-the-top version of the classic British Shepherd’s Pie

It has three parts to it:

  1. The meat sauce

  2. The mashed potatoes

  3. The macaroni

This Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. My family loved it and I’m sure yours will too.

It does take time to put the entire pie together but the end result will be well worth the effort, trust me.

And it’s super customizable too! You can:

  • Add in sweet corn, mushrooms, olives, jalapenos

  • Make it more/less spicy

  • Use chicken mince instead of beef

  • Leave out the macaroni layer entirely and you’ll be left with a traditional shepherd pie instead

 

This Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. #Pie #ShepherdPie

This Shepherd’s Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. My family loved it and I’m sure yours will too.

If you do make it, don’t forget to share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #spatulainmypocket

Cheers!

Shepherd’s Macaroni Pie

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Meat Sauce
¼ cup cooking oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
½ kilo ground beef (Qeema)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
4 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 Tablespoon ketchup (optional but I like it saucy)
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
Mashed Potatoes
2 large potatoes, boiled till tender
1 Tablespoon butter
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Macaroni
1 ½ cups boiled elbow macaroni
2 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
½ cup chicken stock or water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon mustard powder
2 Tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions

Meat sauce:
In a pan, heat the cooking oil and fry the chopped onion till golden brown.
Add in the carrot and beef. Cook, stirring constantly till the beef turns pale.
Add in the salt, black pepper, and red chilli powder. Mix well.
Cook on high heat for another minute then add in the tomato paste, flour, cornflour, and 1 ½ cup water. Mix well.
Cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook on low heat for 15 minutes or until the beef is fully cooked, and is thick and saucy.
Mashed Potatoes:
Mash the two boiled potatoes along with the butter and milk.
Mix in the seasonings.
Add in more milk if needed to reach a smooth consistency.
Macaroni:
In a saucepan, melt the butter.
Add in the flour, salt, black pepper and mustard powder. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Add in the milk and stock and mix constantly on a low heat.
As soon as the sauce starts thickening and bubbling, turn off heat and add in the cheese and the cooked macaroni. Mix well
Assembling:
Grease a large oven-proof casserole dish. Pour in whole of the meat sauce.
Ladle on top the macaroni.
Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the macaroni layer or you may pipe the potatoes with a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Top with a little cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes or until the top is a lovely golden brown.

This Shepherd Macaroni Pie is warm, hearty, and super comforting: the makings of a perfect wintertime comfort dish. #Pie #ShepherdPie