Honey, Lemon & Sea Salt Caramel Corn

February 3, 2016 Plate Fete

I’ve been going through a snacking phase. Do you know those times?

Honey, Lemon & Sea Salt Caramel Corn {Pedantic Foodie}

I do not want to eat full meals, like a sensible person, I just want to raid the refrigerator and pantry for whatever can be eaten by the handful. For no good reason, marshmallows and popcorn sometimes sound far better than making a real dinner.

Popcorn is one of my dearest friends. Salty or sweet, chocolatey or spicy, I love popcorn. The kind of popcorn you make with oil and popping corn on a stovetop, not with a fake-butter laden bag and a microwave.

Did you know that you can make caramel out of honey? You can. No corn syrup, no refined sugars, just honey and butter.

The final product is rich, sweet, and slightly floral. I used a very floral honey for this recipe, to play off of the lemon. A good orange blossom honey would be an excellent choice.

This popcorn has a lot going on, it’s sweet, salty, and brightened by fresh lemon zest. The combination is surprising and addicting.

The lemon is more of an after note, one that keeps you coming back for more.

Snack dinners aren’t going out of style anytime soon.

Happy Wednesday!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Honey, Lemon & Sea Salt Popcorn

serves 4-6

3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup popping corn
1 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place a large pot over medium high heat and add coconut oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add popping corn and cover. When the corn begins to pop, shake the pot gently, to prevent the kernels from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

When the popcorn has stopped popping, remove from heat. Transfer the popped corn to a deep-sided, 15x10 baking dish. Place the popcorn in the oven while you prepare the caramel sauce. This will help the corn to stay crisp.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, honey, and lemon zest. Place over medium heat and stir until all the butter has melted and the mixture begins to boil. Boil for 5-7 minutes, until the caramel has deepened slightly in color. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and baking soda.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn immediately and stir to cover all the popcorn evenly.

Return the popcorn to the oven and bake for 35 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Remove the popcorn from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Toss to coat.

Allow the popcorn to cool before serving or storing in airtight containers. Enjoy!

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Galentine's Day Party

February 1, 2016 Plate Fete

We are two weeks away from one of my very favorite holidays. I love, seriously love, Valentine's Day. We have talked about this before...

I adored this pink-hued holiday. Valentine or no valentine, it is always a happy and welcome excuse to fellowship with some of my favorite ladies, eat chocolate by the handful, and top everything with pink whipped cream.

So, when World Market approached me with the idea of throwing a "Galentine's Day Party," I could not pass up the chance to share one of my favorite traditions.

This year, however, I revamped my menu, replacing frozen yogurt with a decadent crepe bar, and one of the best things to ever come out of my blender - Frozen Red Velvet Hot Chocolate!

You can find all the party details and recipes here. Based upon the amount of laughter and empty glasses, I would say that this party was a wonderful success. Of course, much of that was likely due to the Nutella. Party. Starter.

Whether you have a sweetheart or not, I hope you are able to take some time to pamper yourself and your favorite ladies for an evening. Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

This post was sponsored by Cost Plus World Market. As always, all opinions are my own.

Earl Grey Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Blackberry Jam & Rich Chocolate Buttercream

January 27, 2016 Plate Fete

I spent the weekend snowbound, discussing my wedding cake, watching way too many movies, and periodically venturing out into the white, freezing world to slip, trip, and slide down hills on whatever piece of plastic I could find.

Though a day at home can be restorative, multiple days at home can quickly grow tiresome. I feel a burning beneath my skin, an ache to do something besides nothing.

Earl Grey Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Blackberry Jam & Rich Chocolate Buttercream {Pedantic Foodie}

The kitchen starts to call and I sit with my notebook and scribble down ideas until something feels right. Then, the mug of hot cocoa is set aside, and the chilling fragrance of winter is replaced with the aroma of freshly baked cakes, awaiting their chocolatey, buttercream destiny.

I had cake on the brain this past weekend. One of my dear bridesmaids has bravely agreed to bake my rather elaborate wedding cake, and we have been discussing molds, serving sizes, and cake flavors so much that my brain has turned to buttercream, which is by no means a bad thing. It just made me want cake. But, as you know, I do not like baking cakes because they slide, and fall, and make me cry. This is why I love cupcakes.

As I contemplated flavors, I wanted something snow-day appropriate. I craved a cupcake that could deliver the same comforting warmth that I found in the my humble, morning brew of Earl Grey, and a slice of toast with jam. Then, in a rare moment of what I would call brilliance, it came to me. Earl Grey cupcakes.

Real talk. The whole Earl Grey-flavored everything had gotten nothing but a dramatic eye-roll from me up until now. I had made two attempts to incorporate the deep, moody notes of Bergamot into my baking and both failed to deliver any detectable trace of tea. This time, however, I was determined. I googled, I schemed, and I finally contrived a means by which I could harness the powerful flavor of a classic morning brew.

This stroke of brilliance was not exactly extraordinary. In fact, it’s rather obvious.

Cupcakes call for milk. Tea can steep in milk. Milk can be turned into very strong tea that will then be turned into cake batter. The end.

A little anticlimactic? I know. But it works, so stop complaining.

These cupcakes are moist, buttery, and rich with the flavors of Winter. The moody notes of the Earl Grey play wonderfully alongside the poppy seeds, creating a cake that is truly unique.

I love how batter looks.

Though the cakes are truly delicious on their own, they are not overly sweet, and thus, are complimented by the sweet jam, and rich frosting.

This chocolate buttercream is my favorite chocolate buttercream ever. Truly. It's oh-so-rich, and the combination of cocoa and melted chocolate make it silky smooth.

Whether atop a cake, or eaten by the spoonful, it is, quite simply, utterly delightful.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am quite distressed by the amount of icing that currently tops most American cupcakes. It's overdone, more for appearance than flavor, and quite often overpowers the cake rather than complimenting it. This is a true travesty. Personally, I like my frosting spread generously and evenly over my cakes with a butterknife. Full and even coverage, keeping the same frosting to cake ratio in each bite.

However, I realize that visually, this technique is not as appealing. Perhaps one day I will defy trends and the ever-judging Pinterest and post my cupcakes frosted the way they were meant to be.

All that is to say, that if you make these cupcakes (which you definitely should) and are taken aback by the amount of frosting this recipe makes, that is because I really prefer a small amount of frosting with my cakes. If you feel differently, you are most welcome to double the recipe. In fact, I would recommend that anyways because you will likely eat half the batch while the cakes are cooling.

Though not necessary, a cupcake filling injector is a very helpful tool when you are trying to pipe jam into the center of each tiny cake.

Mine totally looks like a syringe, I always feel like I'm performing cupcake surgery.

The jam is absolutely essential to these cakes. The pairing of the berries with the Earl Grey is just heavenly.

Robust, familiar tea, crunchy poppy seeds, sweet jam, and rich chocolate. It's all here and it's a wonderful thing.

Thank you, dear snowstorm, for giving me the motivation and inspiration I so desperately needed.

Stay warm, bake often, and make your days as cozy as possible. That is my Winter-survival advice.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Earl Grey Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Blackberry Jam & Rich Chocolate Buttercream

makes 18 cupcakes

for the cupcakes

4 bags Earl Grey tea*
1 cup whole milk
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat milk by microwaving for two minutes, or bringing to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Remove from heat source and add tea bags. Steep for 40-45 minutes and then remove tea bags.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift to combine flours and baking powder.

Place butter in a large bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for one minute. Add sugar and beat until fluffy; about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, slowly work in flour mixture and milk alternating between the two. After all elements have been incorporated, beat in poppy seeds and vanilla extract.

Prepare muffin tins by lining with paper cupcake liners. Use a 1-ounce disher to portion the batter amongst the cups.

Bake cakes for 20 minutes, until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean.

Place the cupcakes on cooling racks and allow to cool completely before proceeding with filling and icing.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream.

*It's important to use a good, strong, tea for this recipe. Personally, I like this one. It is robust, but not bitter.

for the buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1cup confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Place semisweet chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave at thirty second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate is smooth and fully melted.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for one minute. Add cocoa powder and beat on low speed until well combined. While continuing to mix on low speed add melted chocolate, confectioner’s sugar, and heavy cream. Beat until smooth.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag.

filling and assembly