Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

I am really excited to share this recipe with you. I love autumn baking and have been baking non stop with apples. There's something so comforting about apples and cinnamon and it's even better when paired with pastry. I love a good apple pie and I have to confess that I occasionally crave a McDonald's apple pie! I saw these salted caramel apple pies on Kelly's blog and have been wanting to bake them for weeks. I finally got a chance and they were well worth the wait. I used a different recipe for the pastry which has a high proportion of butter to flour and it tasted amazing! It is the best pastry I've made as it's so buttery and flaky almost like a puff pastry. I loved the cinnamon, caramel apple filling but was not a fan of the sea salt which I will omit next time. The pies were not as difficult to make as I originally thought and I will definitely be baking these again. We had them warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was absolutely divine. It was equally good the next day cold for breakfast! I am now thinking of different fruit variations for these pies - apple and raisin, apple and berries, pear and ginger.... any other ideas? 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

The Pastry Challenge hosted by Lisa from United Cakedom and Jen from Jen's Food. The theme this month is pies and tarts. 

Perfecting Patisserie Challenge hosted by Lucy from Baking Queen 74.  

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

Bake of the Week hosted by Helen from Casa Costello.

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart fromCakeyboi. The theme this month is Autumn.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked by Twins.

 I found some salted caramel sweets in France

 Make sure you chop the apples into little pieces so they cook properly

 I'm really proud of my pastry :) 

 

 Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of a pastry circle

 add chopped caramels and sea salt flakes 

 Wet the edges of the pastry and place a pastry circle on top

 Press down gently and crimp with a fork 

 Brush with egg wash then cut some air vents and add a sprinkling of demerera sugar (I didn't have any granulated sugar) 

 You can see the soft, flaky pastry here - it resembles puff pastry!! 

Makes 12 mini pies

For the pastry
315g plain flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
285g butter, cubed and cold
6-10 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into little pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g caster sugar
2 teaspoons plain flour
12 caramel sweets, roughly chopped
sea salt flakes

For the egg wash
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Note: I used a food processor to make my pastry but you can of course make it by hand.

• Place the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and mix briefly.
• Add in the chopped cold butter and pulse until it resembles bread crumbs.
• Add in a tablespoon of water at a time and continue mixing until a soft dough forms. I used 8 tablespoons of water. 
• Knead the dough gently and wrap in cling film.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably a few hours. 
• Next make the filling by mixing the chopped apple, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour in a bowl. 
• Roughly chop the caramel sweets - I used 1 sweet per apple pie. 
• Remove the dough from the fridge. Tear off a small piece and place the rest back in the fridge - the dough is best when chilled so work with a small bit at a time.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
• Cut out circles using a round cutter - you need 2 pieces per pie. 
• Place the circles on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Place 1 tablespoon of apple filling in the centre of each circle, keeping the edges free.
• Add the chopped caramels and a sprinkling of sea salt flakes (optional).
• Dip your finger into a bowl of water and lightly run your finger around the edge of each pastry circle.
• Add a circle of dough on top of the apple pie and press down the edges gently.
• Crimp the edges using a fork.
• Brush the pies with eggwash.
• Cut a few air vents in each pie and sprinkle with granulated or demerera sugar (optional). 
• Bake in a pre heated oven of 200C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long absence. It's just been crazy busy lately with lots going on. I will be posting less for the next few months until things settle down but will still continue to co-host AlphaBakes with Caroline. I do appreciate the loyalty from my regular readers and still enjoy reading all your posts when I can. 

I've been wanting to make this for a while so I'm really pleased that I got the chance recently and I can tell you that it was well worth the wait. It's a very rich, decadent dessert and you only need a small slice. It has an oreo biscuit base, covered with homemade caramel and topped with rich, dark chocolate ganache and a generous sprinkling of sea salt. It's a no bake recipe but it does take some time as each layer has to set before you put the next layer on. I used Hans Sloane Ecuador 70% chocolate beads and it worked beautifully in this recipe as it gave the pie the rich, dark chocolate taste which paired well with the sea salt flakes and caramel. If you use a sweeter chocolate then the pie will be too sweet and you won't get the lovely contrast.

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter this  month is O for Oreo cookies.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Lucy from Supergolden Bakes.

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

Tasty Tuesdays hosted by Vicki from Honest Mum.

 only 5 ingredients required - brown sugar, double cream, chocolate beads or chocolate chips, butter and oreo cookies 

 oreo cookie base 

 making the caramel 

 caramel is almot ready!

 look at that lovely caramel 

 the smudge is from the cling film before the caramel set 

 luckily it's covered in a thick layer of chocolate ganache 

 served with fresh raspberries and raspberry ripple ice cream 

Makes 1 large 10 inch pie

For the base
2 packs of 154g Oreo cookies
100g butter

For the caramel
260g light brown sugar
225g butter
120 mlsdouble cream

For the chocolate ganache
250ml double cream
340g Hans Sloane Ecuador 70% chocolate beads

To serve
Sea salt flakes
Fresh raspberries
Raspberry ripple ice cream

• Start by making the oreo base - place the oreo cookies in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the butter and pulse briefly.
• Spread the oreo base on the pie tin and smooth out the top making sure that the base goes up the side of the dish as shown.
• Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to set.
• In the meantime, make the caramel by placing the butter and brown sugar in a medium sized pan.
• Heat gently over a medium heat until bubbles start to form. 
• Remove from the heat and leave for 1 minute.
• Gently whisk in the double cream and continue whisking until the caramel is smooth.
• Set aside to cool for at least 15-20 minutes.
• Take the oreo base out of the freezer and pour the caramel layer on top.
• Return to the freezer for 20-30minutes to set.
• Make the chocolate ganache by gently heating the cream until it just bubbles.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate beads.
• Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.
• Remove the oreo pie from the freezer and pour the chocolate ganache on top.
• Refrigerate until set.
• Before serving, add a generous sprinkle of sea salt on top of the pie.
• Slice and serve with fresh raspberries and a scoop of ice cream. 

Disclaimer: I was sent some Hans Sloane drinking chocolate beads for review purposes to create a recipe. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel and a review

Last week there was a shout out on twitter from Sugar and Crumbs to review their new icing flavours so I jumped at the chance. They have just launched salted caramel and coffee in addition to the other 22 flavours already available. I decided to make a dark chocolate cupcake with a salted caramel filling and salted caramel icing. 

The cakes were absolutely amazing. The dark chocolate paired really well with the salted caramel. The icing sugar itself smells like caramel and it's a lovely fine icing which comes in a resealable bag. There's a recipe guide at the back to tell you how much butter and icing sugar to use to make the buttercream. The icing turned out beautifully and it actually tasted of salted caramel! I am usually dubious about flavoured icing sugar as the flavours tend to get lost or taste artificial but this was not the case at all. I can't wait to try some of the other flavours. 

 salted caramel icing sugar 

  melt butter, chocolate and cocoa powder 

 whisk eggs and sugar 

 adding sea salt to the caramel 

 filling cupcakes 

For the cupcakes (Makes 12)
113g unsalted butter, chopped
60g dark chocolate, chopped
40g cocoa powder
105g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
130g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
115g sour cream

For the filling

1 can of caramel

handful of sea salt flakes 

For the icing

250g butter

500g salted caramel icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk 

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. 
• Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. 
• Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
• Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated.
• Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. 
• Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
• Divide the batter evenly in 12 cupcakes cases. 
• Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack until completely cold before decorating.
• To make the filling, add sea salt flakes to the caramel and adjust to taste. 
• Make the frosting by beating the butter and icing sugar until smooth. 
• Add in milk to required consistency and continue beating.
• To assemble the cupcakes, core out the middle of the cupcake using a melon baller or cupcake corer.
• Fill with 1 teaspoon of salted caramel filling.
• Pipe buttercream on top of each cupcake.
• Decorate with sprinkles. 

Disclaimer : I was sent the flavoured icing sugar from Sugar and Crumbs for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. 

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

I have been looking forward to Cupcake Camp but didn't have time to try out any recipes beforehand. I decided to do a Halloween inspired cupcake similar to a toffee apple. The cake was really moist and crisp with the crunch of apple pieces. It paired quite well with the salted caramel buttercream. I added a little jelly skull for the Halloween effect :) 

adding apples to the batter 

 ready to go in the oven 

 caramel filling 

 make a hole in the centre 

 fill with caramel 

 cover it back 

 pipe frosting on top 

sprinkle with mini fudge pieces

 final result 

Caramel Apple Cupcakes from Crazy about cupcakes
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium sized tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped small

Caramel filling
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
55g butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Buttercream 
125g caster sugar
80ml double cream
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
160g salted butter, softened
200g icing sugar, sifted

For the cake

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar, oil, cinnamon and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed.  
• Add the eggs one at a time. Beat for 1 minute after each addition. 
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
• Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. 
• Beat until well blended.
• Stir in the apples.
• Fill the cupcake liners to 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Leave to cool in the pan.

For the filling

• In a saucepan over medium heat bring the brown sugar, butter and cream to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to a simmer and continue stirring for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in the vanilla extract.

For the buttercream

• To make the caramel, dissolve the sugar and 60ml water in a small, solid-based pan over a gentle heat, then increase the heat to a boil.
• Wait a few minutes, leaving the pan undisturbed but watching it like a hawk and, as soon as it changes to a wonderful caramel colour (like strong tea) and is thicker, remove immediately from the heat.
• Stand well back and add the cream.
• Be very careful as it's searing hot and may splatter a little.
• it will reach or 'seize' and you may think it has gone wrong; it hasn't.
• Keep stirring, adding the salt and the vanilla.
• Leave until stone cold.
• For the buttercream icing, cream the butter and icing sugar for at least 5 minutes.
• Add the caramel.