Butter Toffee Popcorn

My brother seems to think he's the king of caramel popcorn and while that may be true, in his mind at least, I will arrogantly declare that I am the queen of Butter Toffee Popcorn.  I had previously posted a recipe on this blog for caramel popcorn that, in retrospect, just wasn't up to par.   Then I found this recipe for butter toffee popcorn on Cook's Country and that all changed.  Thus began my self-proclaimed reign as popcorn sovereign.  Long live the queen!

This recipe is fantastic.  The only tweak I made was to substitute cashews for the peanuts.  I wanted to add a little extra decadence but I think using any kind of nut will work just as well.   

A note on the popcorn: I find I get the best results using fresh popped corn, not microwave popcorn.  My favorite way to make homemade popcorn is with the Whirley-Pop.  Just two ingredients, kernels and vegetable oil, and in less than 5 minutes you've got fluffy, crispy popcorn. 

I'm thinking of making this popcorn to give as gifts during the holidays - what a more appropriate accompaniment to my popular cashew toffee.  

Coffee Crunch Cake

By the time I moved to San Francisco Blum's pastry shops had been long closed, but their desserts continued to live on.  My sister told me about their most famous creation, Coffee Crunch Cake, and brought me a slice from Yasukochi's Sweet Stop in Japantown.  

Coffee-flavored desserts aren't really a favorite of mine, but the combination of sponge-y lemon scented vanilla cake frosted with whipped cream and covered with light, airy honeycomb textured coffee candy was divine.   I had to see if I could make it for myself.

Luckily I didn't have any trouble finding a recipe online, one that was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.   Overall the cake was delicious and very well-received.  The only adjustments for next time would be to make an oil-based chiffon for the cake and to use stronger coffee, like espresso, for the coffee flavor to really come through in the crunch. 

Dark Chocolate Truffles

When I started this blog two years ago I had no clue about all the swag that was out there to be won.   I've entered my fair share of blog giveaways, especially when its cookware or mixers, but I never actually won anything....until now!

How ecstatic was I when I received an email from Rosie of Sweetapolita last month telling me that I was one of the winners of her chocolate giveaway.   My prize?  Two boxes of dark chocolate couverture (minimum 70% cacao) from Cacao Barry.

My only dilemma now was what to make.  Perhaps chocolate chip cookies or brownies?  With this high quality chocolate I didn't want to go the obvious route.   It just so happened that the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Cook's Illustrated featured chocolate truffles....uh, bingo! 

If there was anything that would really showcase the dark chocolate it had to be the truffles.  I wanted a bit of variety so I coated some in pistachios, homemade cashew toffee bits and powdered sugar along with the traditional cocoa powder.  These are going to be the perfect holiday gift for the chocoholics I know.

Cashew Toffee Packaging

Here's the packaging I went with for this year's cashew toffee.  Even though brown and sage green aren't your typical holiday colors I thought they complimented the toffee beautifully.   

The brown candy boxes are from this place and the sage ribbon I found at my favorite new shop, The Ribbonerie, in San Francisco. They have every type of ribbon you could ever imagine..and lots more!  The finishing touch was a sweet gift tag designed by NM Designs.

So far I've made just a little over fifty pounds of toffee and it's not even for me!  These boxes were ordered by  family and friends.    I haven't even started making the candy I need for gift giving.  I'll probably need about 15 more pounds before the season is over.   Good thing I only do this once a year.

Cashew Toffee - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thanksgiving is still a little over two weeks away and I'm already looking ahead to Christmas.  Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, and why wouldn't it be - it's the holiday renowned for  baking.  I'm one of those people who thinks that it's never too early to start the holiday spirit.  I've already got a mini Christmas tree decorated in my office at work and have my  favorite Andy Williams Christmas CD playing on continuous loop.   Call me crazy, it wouldn't be the first time!, but after all, it's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

To celebrate the upcoming festivities I've already started churning out my famous cashew toffee.  I began making this candy a few years ago and the response from family and friends was so overwhelming that it's turned in to a delicious tradition.

The toffee ingredients are simple enough, basically butter, sugar and cashews cooked to a bubbling mass, cooled and then coated with chocolate, but the result is pure heaven.  Just the right amount of sweet and salty juxtaposed with the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate coating.  A good toffee has to taste rich, but also have a crunchy bite.  Cook the mixture too long and you've got burnt sugar, not long enough and you end up with a taffy so chewy that it could yank out your fillings.   Even my longtime dentist Dr. Luke loves this toffee; if that's not the ultimate seal of approval I don't know what is.

This is just the beginning of the many treats I'll be making over the next few weeks..stay tuned!