Things have been a little/lot quiet around here as I twerk on the book (coming down the home stretch!) but I figured enough was enough so I’m here today to shout from the rooftops about my friend Shauna‘s new book Real Sweet.
The book is great, Shauna’s great. I don’t even want to think about the amount of work and testing that went into all the recipes, and to really place the diamond in the crown, every headnote makes me smile. She knows her way around funny.
The whole idea behind the book is that you’re baking with all natural sugars, nothing super refined, which is great because Shauna basically just did all this work so I could feel better about eating more desserts. Most of the recipes call for sugars that are new to my kitchen, which very much excites me in a weird way, but before I went out to get those I decided to take this beast for a spin. I mean, come on. Caramelized. Honey.
Am I the last one to this party? If I am it sure as hell is fashionably late. tbh I really don’t like honey in it’s bear to table state, there’s something about the flavor that I’m just meh about, but I figured I’d try cooking it down and ohmygod you guys. Total game changer. Total Ramonaeyes.
It takes on a sort of nutty profile that I just want to try and put in a million different desserts. Let’s not cross our fingers and friendship bracelets, but I feel a frozen yogurt with this treatment in the near future, and also this to sweeten a cream cheese frosting would be so great.
I know some of you reading this are like thanks asshole for this summer dessert when it’s snowing here but honestly it’s shorts weather already here in Southern California and I just want to lay around with no pants on and watch Broad City.*
*that last bit is kind of an everyday thing.
Last bit! GO BUY SHAUNA’S BOOK. If you like baking or want to experiment then this book is perfect. Go over here to Shauna’s site for even more of a book run down, and an awesome giveaway (!) that’s still good for a few more days.
Caramelized Honey & Sea Salt Gelato (Pops)
very slightly adapted from Shauna Sever’s Real Sweet
This recipe is originally just the gelato but I put it in popsicle molds for better single serving self control issues. Makes a generous pint or 5-6 3oz popsicles.
1 cup + 6 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, something like Maldon
1/2 a vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
In a small bowl whisk together the 6 tablespoons of whole milk with the cornstarch until dissolved and set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan combine the remaining cup of milk, heavy cream, and sea salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and throw that in along with the pod. Warm up the mixture to just below a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside to let the vanilla steep while you caramelize the honey.
Combine the honey, water, and lemon juice in a small pan that doesn’t have any dark coating, so you can see the honey’s business, and don’t go too far. Bring this to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the honey’s just turned a darker shade of amber. Don’t go too far or you’ll burn it, but your nose will definitely let you know when it starts to smell a little nutty.
Take off the heat and very slowly drizzle it into the other pan, whisking while you pour so nobody gets out of hand. Put this pan of almost gelato base back on the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking occasionally so nothing burns. Add the cornstarch slurry, whisk until combined and bring back to a simmer. Once it hits a simmer cook for 1 minute, remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl or container, preferably something with a spout (large measuring cup). Cool completely, remove the vanilla bean pod, then churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Now you’ve got a great gelato you can just scrape into a container and freeze completely. If you want to go the popsicle route then carefully scoop the gelato into the popsicle mold once it’s churned. **The picture above was unchurned and it was sort of icy so the extra step of churning definitely help with the creaminess. Tap the popsicle mold on the counter once it’s filled to remove any air bubbles then insert the popsicle sticks and freeze.
