first weeks

so....when I once again have a kitchen I can freely bake in whenever I want....things happen, apparently! I was afraid that with working in the kitchen for 40 hours a week, I might be sick of baking and things like that and not want to do it for myself. However! Wonderful discovery! (or dreadful one, where my wallet is concerned...dang Sweden is expensive for buying baking ingredients....oh how that makes me miss home..) This has not been the case! I still feel like baking for myself in the evenings just as much. Probably because then I get to decide what I'm making, and I get to experiment and get fancy or crazy and not care about what time the clock says... :)

Other discoveries. Korean cuisine really doesn't involve baking at all. So Koreans don't even know how to bake really. So my wonderful S. Korean roomie has requested that I teach her how to bake......uhh...well of course! So for her first lesson, we went for some Salted Caramel Brownies from Smitten Kitchen. (of course. Where else do I get baking recipes from?)



Salted Caramel Brownies

(http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/02/salted-caramel-brownies/) 

Makes 1 8×8 pan of brownies which you can cut into 16 2-inch squares or 25 smaller squares

Caramel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted, but then ease up on the sea salt)
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or 1/8 teaspoon table salt, more to taste)
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Brownie
3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt or 1/8 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup (85 grams) all-purpose flour

Make caramel: Set a square of parchment paper over a medium-sized plate. Lightly butter or coat the parchment with a spray oil, just as an added security measure.

In a medium, dry saucepan over medium-high heat, melt your sugar; this will take about 5 minutes, stirring if necessary to break up large chunks. By the time it is all melted, if should be a nice copper color; if not, cook until it is. Remove from heat and stir in butter. It may not incorporate entirely but do your best. Stir in cream and salt and return saucepan to the stove over medium-high heat, bringing it back to a simmer and melted again any sugar that solidified. Cook bubbling caramel for a few minutes more, until it is a shade darker.

Pour out onto parchment-covered plate and transfer plate to your freezer. Freeze until solidified, which can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes in a decent freezer to 40 minutes in my terrible one.
Meanwhile, or when your caramel is almost firm, make your brownies: Heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides. Butter the parchment or spray it with a nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until only a couple unmelted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted. You can also do this in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula.

Assemble brownies: When caramel is firm, remove it from the freezer and chop it into rough 1-inch squares. Gently fold all but a small amount of caramel bits into batter. Scrape batter into prepared pan, spreading until mostly even. Scatter remaining caramel bits on top. Bake in heated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool thoroughly — a process that can be hastened in the freezer, which will also produce cleaner cuts — and cut into squares or other desired shapes.


There were however a few problems that I feel I must blame on the somewhat limited (primitive?) baking supplies that this kitchen is stocked with.....I mean....I don't even have an 8x8 or any variety of square baking pan. this is the only cake pan, or pan even close to that size that I have. Also...the oven doesn't have wire racks... It just has flat pans in it to hold the pans in it. And it cooks much hotter than was expected.. So the final result of these brownies, while tasty, was not quite as hoped. They were a bit burned on top and the caramel definitely did not stay on top and barely get melted as was supposed to, but it all ended up in the bottom. So they were a gooey tasty caramel-y mess (I wish I would have added a bit more salt too though..) but not super pretty. I can't wait to be able to try something like this again when I'm home again and have my proper kitchen again... :) However my wonderful Korean is already convinced now that baking is for her and that she wants to do more of it. So in that way, these brownies were definitely a success regardless of how they came out looking!

where life has taken me...and the baking continues..!

So it has been a long time. But perhaps this summer I will find time to update this more often and better. Where has life taken me? I'm no longer a cashier...at the end of September, I hopped on a plane and it decided to take me to Sweden. I ended up at Holsby Torchbearers Bible School from September til the end of May. It's been really good, and just an overall interesting and challenging time here. I've learned a lot in so many areas of life. One thing I have missed the most though, is definitely the fact that I've lived in dorm and I haven't been able to just bake whatever I want whenever I want. I've been lucky in that I've still gotten to bake some, but it's  never like it was at home of course in my own house and own kitchen... But somewhere along the lines (around the end of March) I made the decision to stay here and work in the kitchen for the summer. (In the summer they have many summer camps and things like that.) School ended at the end of May, I went and traveled for 18 days with my sister, and now here I am, back at Holsby, ready for a summer of working in the kitchen!

Today was my first day of being a Holsby kitchen girl. :) I definitely was a little freaked out before I got to the kitchen to start....I've never been responsible for cooking or baking for so many people in such a setting before, ahhh! But it all went quite well! Pancake day....and then preparing for the huge Midsummer's event tomorrow. So this means my day was spent baking Kanel Bullar and Shortbread cookies.

Ta ta for now....I'll update more with some of the other lovely things I've baked while at school. Including some German cake...and introducing all my German friends to some very strictly North American cakes!