'Joey's Blog': S'Mores

Showing posts with label S'Mores. Show all posts

Woke up with fear on a weekend because today was my doom day. A day that I knew that I have to face it alone. Its nothing other than my wisdom tooth surgery. It may not sound like its serious but as a ZERO high-tolerance patient like me, it definitely scared me off. I hate visiting to the dentist because:

Im SUPER afraid of pain. Even when the nurse examine my blood test, my face can totally turn pale.
I hate the drilling/ shrinking sound of the dentist instrument
I have a bad experience of extracting my tooth when I was in primary school. The dentist basically used all his strength to pull my tooth out and it hurts alot, leading to swollen face ( like BA ZHANG!)

But today, I braved myself to the surgery room (well, bf and mum accompanied me though) and was rested on the seat immediately. Being naive me, I thought that I would just need to go through one surgery but in the end the dentist told me that she will be extracting my decay tooth too. Im like SERIOUSLY??? 2 teeth at one go. A fright of a nightmare.

I love how my dentist attended to me. She keep asking how am I feeling throughout the whole operation, ensuring that Im feeling comfortable throughout. Moreover, she assured me that this operation will be a smooth-sailing with no pain but numb feeling process. Of course I trusted her and allowed her to lay her hands on my teeth. The anaesthesia that she injected on my gum allowed me to be half-awake. The whole operation lasted me 30 minutes and I did not feel any pain at all. One comforting thing to be happy for but when the anaesthesia sided off, the pain was so horrendous that I would want to scream at the top of my lung. The stitches kept poking through my gum like how a bee sting you. Lucky it was just a temporary or else I would have to die in pain.

The wound kept bleeding even when im at home and I have to change my cotton bud every half an hour but it stopped when almost dinner time. I was supposed to be on water diet for the next 7 days but I kinda broke it by sneaking some sweet bars into my mouth.

Bf came to accompany me when I needed him the most and im seriously so thankful for his presence. This man has been tolerating my tantrum today (the pain just got me cranky and irritated). But never fail to stay by my side when I ask for him. Im restricted not to go out today so in the end we decided to bake to keep our afternoon alive. Im so glad that he has fulfilled one of my wish list and that was to bake with him as you know he is a busy man who only come out on weekend. As a man, he definitely won't enter into the kitchen often so today its quite a good time to engage him into baking.

I have two recipes in mind;

1. Smores bars

2. Chocolate tart

He's definitely a great helper in pressing the biscuits crust nicely onto the pan. I really like how he is so attentive, ensuring that all the pan was occupied by the crusts.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) digestive biscuits

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) (84 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Topping:

1 cup (170 grams) semisweet or milk chocolate chips or chunks

2 cups (130 grams) miniature marshmallows or homemade marshmallows cut into bite sized pieces

Methods:

S'Mores: Preheat ovento 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil.

Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until all the crumbs are moistened. Press this mixture firmly onto the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven about 10 minutes, or just until the crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the marshmallows are soft, lightly golden, and starting to meld together. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, lift the squares from the pan by holding the edges of the foil. With a long sharp knife, cut into squares. Can be stored at room temperature for several days.

Next up: Chocolate tart

Chocolate Filling:

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)

1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cup (400 ml) milk, divided (whole or 2% reduced fat)

1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream (35-45% butterfat content)

3 large egg yolks

3 ounces (90 grams) semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, finely chopped

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature (cut into small pieces)

Shortbread Crust:

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners sugar (powdered or icing sugar)

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

Methods:

Chocolate Filling: In a medium-sized heatproof bowlwhisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Then whisk in 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the milk to make a thick paste. Add the egg yolks and whisk into the cocoa paste mixture. Set aside while you heat the milk and cream. Have ready a strainer placed over a bowl as you will need to strain the pudding after it is cooked.

Pour the remaining 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) milk with the cream into a medium-sized heavy saucepan. Bring this mixture just to a boil (the milk will startto foam up) and then remove from heat. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean, heavy bottomed medium sized saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 3 - 5 minutes). Remove from heat and pour through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking. Add the finely chopped chocolate, vanilla extract, and butter, stirring gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, to prevent a skin from forming, let cool, and then chill in the refrigerator until thick (for at least four hours, or even overnight).

Shortbread Crust: Lightly butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) pie or tart pan.

In your food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt and process to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until the pastry starts to come together and form clumps. Transfer the pastry to your pie or tart pan and, using your fingertips, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sidesof the pan. Gently pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. Cover and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.

Place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake the crust until golden brown, about 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Then fill with the chilled chocolate filling.