Dulce de Leche Brownies

I have been wanting to try a new brownie and last night I had a chocolate craving so I did a quick Google search and found these babies.  The idea of Dulce de Leche and brownies—one of my favorite things—is   just too too too much to handle.  These brownies look so fudgylicious.  The recipe is from David Lebovitz (the original recipe was modified to make it suitable for my kitchen and meet my taste), so you know is going to be out of this world.

If you aren’t familiar with Dulce de Leche, it is basically caramel, like caramelized sweetened condensed milk which I can eat straight out of the can J. It can be found on the isle of your supermarket near the Mexican (or South American) ingredients, but you can also make your own.   Earlier I’ve posted the recipe of Dulce de Leche which I made myself.  You must bake these brownies, you must!  You are missing out on the greatest brownies if you don’t and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on something so good.

The Dulce de Leche brownies are very easy to make, given that the only variation between them and standard brownies is the swirl.  The swirl, however, adds just enough extra ‘wow’ to take these brownies from good to great.  The brownies are fudgy and rich, without being too dense or heavy.  The caramel adds a little extra moistness and a little extra fudginess to the areas touched by the swirl.  The sweetness of the caramel also stands out against the chocolate background.

If you want to emphasize its flavor a little more, you could add a little bit more Dulce de Leche, but I’d suggest making an ice cream sundae with Dulce de Leche brownies (like I did), as the brownies might be a little bit too fudgy if you are overgenerous with the amount of caramel in the swirl.

 

Basically, Dulce de Leche brownies are perfect on their own, but I went all out and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and extra drizzle of Dulce de Leche  for an extra special dessert.  I devoured my brownies and licked the Dulce de Leche off my plates J.

For recipe in Indonesia click HERE

Ingredients:

·         8 tbsp (115 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

·         6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

·         ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

·         3 large eggs

·         1 cup (200 g) sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         1 cup (120 g) flour

·         1 cup (100 g) toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

·         1 cup Dulce de Leche (or Cajeta)

·         Vanilla ice cream and additional Dulce de Leche for serving (optional)

Directions:

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Line a 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides.  Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.

2.       In a large saucepan (or you can use microwave), melt butter and chocolate pieces over medium-low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat and whisk in sugar and cocoa powder until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition.  Add salt and vanilla.  Fold in flour until just combined.  Mix in the nuts, if using.

3.       Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Drop ½ of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly.  Spread the remaining brownie batter over,  then scoop the remaining Dulce de Leche in a small clumps over the surface of the brownie batter.  Swirl slightly with abutter knife.

4.       Bake for 35-45 minutes.  The brownies are done when the center feels just slightly firm or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes our almost clean.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.

5.       Cut the brownies into squares and serve.  Top with ice cream and extra Dulce de Leche, if desired.

Notes:

ü  These brownies actually become better the second day, and will keep well for up to 3 days.

ü  The Dulce de Leche can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.  If you’ve made it beforehand and stored it in the refrigerator, you can warm it in the microwave for about  20-30 seconds to make it smooth enough to stir (it will still be thick)

Bahasa Indonesia
Bahan:

·         8 sdm (115 g) mentega tawar, potong kotak-kotak

·         6 ons (170 g) coklat masak bittersweet atau semisweet, cincang kasar

·         ¼ cup (25 g) coklat bubuk Dutch-process

·         3 butir telur

·         1 cup (200 g) gula

·         1 sdt ekstrak vanila

·         1 cup (120 g) terigu

·         1 cup (100 g) kacang walnut atau pecan, panggang, cincang kasar (optional)

·         1 cup Dulce de Leche (atau Cajeta)

·         Es krim vanilla dan Dulce de Leche tambahan (optional)

Cara:

1.       Panaskan oven dengan suhu 350 derajat F (175 C).  Siapkan loyang ukuran 8x8-inch  (atau bisa juga ukuran 9x13 inch) yang telah dialasi kertas roti atau aluminum foil. Olesi dengan minyak, sisihkan.

2.       Lelehkan mentega dan potongan coklat di atas api kecil-sedang.  (Bisa juga dilelehkan dengan menggunakan microwave).  Angkat.  Segera tambahkan gula pasir dan bubuk coklat,  aduk rata. Tambahkan telur satu per satu, aduk  hingga bercampur.   Tambahkan garam dan ekstrak vanilla. Ketika adonan mulai kental dan mengilap, masukkan terigu dan aduk hanya sampai terigu bercampur. Tambahkan kacang-kacangan, jika menggunakan.

3.       Tuang setengah adonan brownies ke dalam loyang.  Tuang juga setengan Dulce de Leche di atas adonan brownies, ratakan, lalu buat pola dengan mengunakan pisau mentega atau tusuk gigi dan jaga jangan sampai Dulce de Leche mengendap.  Tuang kembali dengan sisa adonan brownies, ratakan sampai Dulce de Leche tertutup adonan.  Terakhir tuang kembali sisa Dulce de Leche di atas permukaan adonan brownies.  Buat pola melingkar (atau sesuai selera) dengan menggunakan pisau mentega atau tusuk gigi.

4.       Panggang selama 35-45 menit dan lakukan tes tusuk.  Pemanggangan selesai jika pada tes tusuk hampir tidak ada adonan yang menempel.  Biarkan dingin sebelum dipotong.  Jika perlu, masukkan ke dalam freezer selama 10 menit untuk mendapatkan irisan yang rapi.

5.       Potong brownies bentuk persegi (atau kotak).  Sajikan dengan es krim dan tuang  Dulce de Leche di atasnya, jika suka.

Catatan:

ü  Brownies ini akan semakin nikmat disantap pada hari berikutnya, dan dapat disimpan selama 3 hari pada suhu ruang.

ü  Dulce de Leche dapat dibuat seminggu sebelumnya dan disimpan di dalam lemari pendingin.  Hangatkan dengan microwave selama 20-3- detik sebelum digunakan agar lebih mudah diaduk. 

Easy Strawberry Milkshake

It’s early in the morning and I’m drooling over milkshake so much that I feel as it would be a perfectly appropriate breakfast.  I have a thing for strawberries and I know I would love a creamy strawberry milkshake.  So perfect!

A strawberry milkshake is a favorite treat throughout the year (especially during strawberry season) and still at its best when it’s made with real fruit, even though you usually find them made with strawberry syrup these days.  It’s quick and simple too.

Strawberry milkshake I’ve prepared is simply heaven because it uses bare minimum ingredients like frozen strawberries, milk, ice cream, strawberry syrup as a substitute for sugar, and ice cubes to bring out three good qualities of any shake: fresh, creamy, and flavorful.

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

Ingredients:

·         1 cup frozen strawberries, hulled

·         1 cup vanilla ice cream

·         ½ cup cold milk

·         ½ cup ice cubes

·         2 tsp Hershey's strawberry syrup

Directions:

1.       Place all the ingredients in a blender.

2.       Blend the ingredients on high for 2-3 minutes.   Blend the ingredients until you’ve made a cool and creamy mixture.  If you like your milkshake to be a bit chunkier, you can blend it for a bit less time.  If you’d like it to be smoothier, then you can blend it for more time.

3.       Pour the milkshake into a glass and serve immediately.

4.       Enjoy while it’s cold.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         1 cup strawberry beku

·         1 cup es krim vanilla

·         ½ cup susu dingin

·         ½ cup es batu

·         2 sdt sirup strawberry Hershey

Cara:

1.       Masukkan semua bahan ke dalam blender.

2.  Nyalakan blender dengan kecepatan tinggi selama 2-3 menit.  Hancurkan semua bahan sampai membentuk campuran yang dingin dan kental seperti krim.  Nyalakan blender sebentar saja jika ingin milkshake yang sedikit kasar, tetapi nyalakan lebih lama jika ingin milkshake yang lebih lembut.

3.       Tuang milkshake ke dalam gelas, sajikan segera.

4.       Nikmati selagi dingin.

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche is a traditional South American candy (it is Spanish for ‘milk candy’) that is very similar to caramel with an additional taste of cooked milk.  Technically, it is a type of caramel.  Like caramel, it can also be prepared as a sauce—for ice cream, cakes, cookies, or just about anything that needs a sweet topping—simply by cooking it a little less.  In solid form, it is most often eaten as a tasty candy.

The “classic” recipe for dulce de leche is to boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for hours until the contents form a dark brown, thick fluid.  But according to my Argentinian friend,  the “traditional” way of making dulce de leche is by cooking milk and sugar in a big pot, stirring constantly until it turns light brown. 

I have made both ways, classic (using a microwave to save time) and traditional.  The condensed milk version has a pleasant and consistent unctuousness, but it is quite sweet.   Because of that, I prefer the traditional version which has just two main ingredients: sugar and milk (some versions add baking soda and vanilla bean) with a wide variability as to the ratio, and only one instruction: simmer until done.   A good place to start is roughly a 4:1 ratio, milk to sugar by weight.  You’ll need to watch the pot once the mixture starts going brown, and in my experience, once I can see the bottom of the pot while stirring, it’s done, thick enough.  

I know that the traditional way takes a long time to make (2-4+ hours, depends on how many quart of milk you use).  However, if you’re cooking the milk slowly enough, you don’t have to watch over it carefully, especially the later stages.  But you have to watch over it initially since the milk will foam up.  Make sure you use a  large enough pot.  I was worried it wouldn’t thicken, then all of the sudden it changed into a beautiful gold color and began to thicken to a perfect consistency.  Very time consuming, but this is absolutely delicious. 

In my humble opinion, the traditional way is better than the classic one. The flavor of ‘from scratch’ dulce de leche (I used Alton Brown’s recipe) is so much richer and complex.  I found that cooking it low and slow on the stove (barely simmer) for  about 2.5 hours yielded a ‘spoonable’ consistency and a yield of almost 2 cups.

If you don’t have time and patience, you can make it using the ‘classic’ way by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Here, I’ll give you the recipe to make dulce de leche from scratch and using condensed milk.  It’s up to you to choose which one is more suitable for you. 

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

From scratch

Ingredients:

·         1 quart (1 liter) whole milk

·         12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 ½ cups

·         1 vanilla bean, split and seed scraped

·         ½ tsp baking soda

Directions:

1.       Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large saucepan and place over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

2.       Once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soda and stir it to combine.  Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer.  Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture.

3.       Continue to cook for 1 hour.

4.       Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and  continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours (mine was done in 2.5 hours).

5.       Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.  Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.

Using Condensed Milk

Ingredients:

·         1 can of sweetened condensed milk

·         ¼ tsp of salt

Method 1:  In the Microwave (the quickest way) ~ I used this method

1.       Empty the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl.

2.       Microwave on medium power or two minutes.

3.       Remove from microwave and stir with a wire whisk.  Be careful, the mixture and the bowl will get very hot and remaining that way throughout the process.

4.       Microwave on medium power for another two minutes. Remove and stir again.

5.       Repeat the method, microwave on medium –low power for 16-24 minutes until milk turns thick and caramel color, stirring every 1-2 minutes.

Method 2: In the Oven

1.       Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 C)

2.       Pour the condensed milk into a glass of pie plate or shallow baking dish, sprinkle with salt.

3.       Set the dish within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.

4.       Cover the pie plate tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 – 1 ¼ hours.  Check during baking and add more water if needed.

5.       Remove dulce de leche from the pan and let cool.

Method 3: In the Can

1.       Remove the label from the can of condensed milk.

2.       Pierce two holes in the can with a can opener.  Put the holes on opposite sides. Do not skip this step. Without these holes, the can may bulge and there is the danger of it exploding.

3.       Place the can in a small pot and fill it with enough water to come up to one inch (2.5 cm) from the top of the can.  You will need to add more water during the cooking process to make sure the water doesn’t go below the level as it evaporates.  To prevent the can from rattling in the water, put a rag under the can.

4.       Place the pot on your stove and turn it onto medium-high heat.  Watch the water closely until you see the water come to a simmer.  Lower the heat to hold the water at a simmer.  Some of condensed milk might escape through the holes. If this happens, scoop it off with the spoon.  Try not to let it spill over into the water.

5.       Wait.  Howl long you wait depends on the type of dulce de leche you want.

·         A soft Dulce de Leche takes about 3 hours.

·         A firm Dulce de Leche will take up to four hours.

6.       Remove the can with thongs and place on a rack to cool.

7.       Open the can carefully with a can opener and pour into a bowl.  The top will be more fluid, and there will be thicker, darker chunks at the bottom which will need to be scraped out.  Whisk together to make it homogenous.

Method 4: In a Pressure Cooker

1.       Put a liter of water in the pressure cooker with a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Don’t punch any holes in the can, but remove the label.

2.       Bring the cooker to boil and wait for between 40 to 50 minutes after it begins it steam.  Shorter time = lighter/softer doce.  Longer time = darker/firmer doce.

3.       Turn off the heat and wait until it cools down completely.

Bahasa Indonesia

Cara Tradisional

Bahan:

·         1 liter susu cair

·         12 ons gula, kurang lebih 1 ½ cups

·         1 batang vanilla, belah dan kerok bijinya

·         ½ sdt baking soda

Cara:

1.       Tuang susu dan campur dengan gula, vanilla ke dalam panci besar.  Didihkan sambil diaduk sesekali sampai gula larut.

2.       Begitu gula larut, tambahkan baking soda, aduk sampai bercampur.  Kecilkan api sambil terus diaduk (jaga larutan tetap dalam keadaan sedikit mendidih), tetapi jangan mengaduk atau mencampur busa yang muncul di permukaan  dengan larutan susu.

3.       Teruskan memasak selama 1 jam.

4.       Angkat dan buang batang vanilla setelah  1 jam.  Teruskan merebus sampai larutan berwana coklat karamel  dan berkurang menjadi sekitar 1-1,5 cup, kurang lebih selama 1 ½ sampai 2 jam (Saya memerlukan waktu selama 2,5 jam).

5.       Saring, tuang ke dalam wadah kaca tertutup dan simpan di dalam lemari pendingin.  Baik digunakan dalam jangka waktu 1 bulan.

Cara Klasik (menggunakan susu kental manis)

Bahan:

·         1 kaleng susu kental manis (SKM)

·         ¼ sdt garam

Cara 1:  Menggunakan Microwave (paling cepat) ~ Metode ini yang saya pakai

1.       Tuang 1 kaleng SKM ke dalam wadah khusus untuk microwave dan tambahkan sedikit garam.  Pilih wadah yang besar. 

2.       Microwave selama 2 menit pada power medium.

3.       Keluarkan, aduk dengan balon whisk.  Hati-hati karena wadah dan isi akanmenjadi panas selama proses pembuatan.

4.       Microwave lagi pada power/temperatur medium selama 2 menit.  Keluarkan dan aduk.

5.       Ulangi proses pemanasan dengan microwave, tetapi kali ini dengan power/temperature medium-low selama 16-24 menit sampai susu mengental dan berwarna seperti karamel.  Aduk setiap 1-2 menit pemanasan.   Sesuaikan waktu pemanasan sesuai dengan warna dan konsistensi yang diinginkan.  

Cara 2: Menggunakan Oven

1.       Panaskan oven dengan suhu 425 derajat F (220 C)

2.       Tuang SKM ke dalam wadah/loyang kaca.  Taburi dengan garam.

3.       Tempatkan ke dalam wadah/loyang kaca lain yang lebih besar.  Isi dengan air panas setinggi setengah dari loyang yang berisi SKM.     

4.       Tutup rapat wadah yang berisi SKM dengan aluminum foil dan panggang selama 1 – 1 ¼ jam sampai berwana coklat karamel.  Periksa adonan selama proses pemanggangan dan tambahkan air bila diperlukan.

5.       Keluarkan dari oven dan biarkan dingin.

Cara 3: Dalam Kaleng SKM

1.       Lepas label SKM.

2.       Buat 2 lubang kecil berseberangan di atas kaleng SKM (bisa dengan paku atau pembuka kaleng).  Jangan lewatkan tahap ini!  Tanpa lubang ini, kaleng dapat menggembung dan ada kemungkinan meledak.

3.       Masukkan kaleng SKM ke dalam panci kecil, tuang air sampai kira-kira setinggi 2,5 cm di bawah kaleng SKM.  Penambahan air  diperlukan selama proses pemanasan.  Untuk menghindari kaleng berderak di dalam air, bisa menempatkan tatakan di bawah kaleng sehingga kaleng tidak langsung menyentuh dasar panci.

4.       Didihkan dengan api sedang-tinggi.  Begitu air mendidih, kecilkan api tetapi jaga air tetap sedikit mendidih.  Susu akan sedikit merembes keluar dari lubang, jika ini terjadi segera ambil dengan sendok, dan jaga jangan sampai tumpah ke dalam air.

5.       Tunggu.  Lamanya menunggu tergantung pada jenis dulce de leche yang diinginkan.

ü  Dulce de Leche sedikit kental memerlukan waktu sekitar 3 jam.

ü  Dulce de Leche kental dan pekat memerlukan waktu sampai 4 jam atau lebih.

6.       Angkat kaleng SKM dan biarkan dingin.

7.       Buka kaleng SKM dengan hati-hati dan tuang ke dalam mangkuk.  Bagian permukaan akan sedikit kental, sementara di bagian dasar aka nada gumpalan-gumpalan yang lebih pekat dan berwarna lebih gelap.  Aduk dengan balon whisk sampai bercampur dan halus.  Simpan dalam botol kaca.

Cara 4: Menggunakan Panci Bertekanan (Pressure Cooker)

1.       Tuang 1 liter air ked lam panci bertekanan, masukkan kaleng SKM.  Jangan membuat lubang di atas kaleng, tetapi lepaskan labelnya.

2.       Didihkan dan tunggu selama 40-50 menit setelah panci mengeluarkan uap.  Waktu singkat = warna lebih muda dan tidak begitu kental.  Waktu lama =  kental dan pekat.

3.       Matikan api dan biarkan dingin. 

Matcha Milkshake

I have the ultimate best motivation to keep my energy  moving throughout the day, but for that I need  a boost which I can get from drinking a cup of green tea.   Everyone drinks green tea because of its therapeutic and soothing powers.  I love the flavor of green tea and have been on a smoothie kick myself recently.  I have a package of matcha powder I use to flavor things like ice cream, cookies, cakes and many more.

Let’s enjoy green tea, not as typical hot drink, but as a cold, creamy, and milky beverage.  My current favorite green tea beverage is matcha milkshake.  Trust me, it’s a heaven-sent energy booster, and it can indulge your sweet tooth, not to mention it looks so pretty yummy!

Here’s an easy recipe you could try if you love green tea (or even if you aren’t) and a big fan of milkshakes.  Make sure you use matcha powder, but if you don’t have matcha, you could also use  regular green tea powder.  Hey, what is the difference between matcha and green tea powder?  Actually matcha is a finely ground, powdered, high quality green tea and not the same as tea powder or regular green tea powder.  It’s ten times more potent that regular green tea and provides a powerful arsenal of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids like no other green tea.  Matcha’s level of antioxidants has been reported by Tufts University to exceed blueberries and pomegranates by 20 times or over.  It helps to fight cancer, burn fat, reduce stress, heighten mental clarity, and beautify your skin.  What’s not to love about it?

For recipe in Indonesia click HERE

Ingredients:

·         1 cup vanilla ice cream

·         ½ cup milk

·         ½ cup ice cubes

·         1 tbsp high quality matcha powder

Directions:

1.       Add all ingredients into a blender and pulse until all the ice is crushed and the milkshake is smooth.

2.       Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

3.       Optional items: you can put a scoop of green tea or vanilla ice cream in the shake and add some whipped cream on top

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         1 cup es krim vanilla

·         ½ cup susu

·         ½ cup es batu

·         1 sdm bubuk matcha kualitas premium

Cara:

1.       Masukkan semua bahan ke dalam blender. Nyalakan blender sampai es batu hancur dan milkshake lembut bercampur.

2.       Tuang ke dalam gelas, sajikan segera.

3.       Mana suka: Anda bisa tambahkan satu scoop es krim green tea atau vanilla ke dalam shake dan hias dengan whipped cream.