Candy Cane Souffle Recipes

HOMEMADE CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Grease two baking sheets with butter; set aside. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 280° (soft-crack stage)., Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring. Immediately pour onto prepared pans in eight 8-in. strips. Let stand just until cool enough to handle, about 1-2 minutes., Working quickly, roll each strip into a 10-in. log. Cut each into two 5-in. lengths. Curve the top of each to form the handle of a cane. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Before you begin this recipe, please take a class from a professional on working with sugar. This is a skill that professional pastry chefs develop after years of experience. Working with sugar will burn your fingers so know before you start that your fingers will develop burn blisters. Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until the sugar reaches 320 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks or the sugar may recrystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean. Pour the cooked sugar onto 3 or 4 silicone baking mats. If you want to color and/or flavor the sugar with food colors and/or flavored oils, this is the time to do so. Add a few drops of color to the sugar. Mix with a wooden skewer. To get started, push the sugar from the sides toward the center. This process takes a little while. Try to keep the sugar divided by color. Use the mat to push the firm sugar around the edges toward the center. Use a folding motion to accomplish that task. The next step is to pick up the sugar with your hands. Place each color under the heat of the sugar lamp. Pull the sugar until it becomes glossy and the color is evenly distributed. You will need to pull the colors simultaneously. Keep them under the sugar lamp but keep an eye on them. The lamp can melt the sugar so it is important keep rotating it and folding it onto itself.
• Start with 2 pieces of colored sugar. I used red and green. Pull them into a rectangular shape that is about 1 1/2-inches wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick. Place the pieces side-to-side and let them stick together on the long side. Place a piece of white sugar that is about 1/2-inch wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick in the middle. Close the red and green around it. Roll it and twist it while pulling it. When it gets to the desired thickness, use a scissor to cut the length and shape into a cane. Allow to cool completely. The white is inside and will become apparent when eaten.
• Jacques? tips: Vinegar keeps the sugar from crystallizing. You will not taste the flavor. It serves as an acid in this recipe. Sometimes candy cane recipes contain corn syrup, which makes the sugar very dry and very hot. Adding corn syrup makes it more difficult to work with the sugar at home. Remember, the sugar is at 320 degrees F, and that will burn you. The ideal work surface is a silpat placed over cool marble or granite. If you do not have marble or stone, use wood. It is a good idea to use gloves to help protect your hands from the heat and to prevent burning.
• I use a special sugar box that includes a special heat source, If you don?t have one, you can work in front of the oven. Set the oven to 300 degrees F. Open the oven door and place the silpat on the oven door. It provides a similar effect to the sugar box heater.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CRUSHED CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Melt 1/4 a stick of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Paint the inside of 6 ramekins or aluminum souffle cups with butter. Coat the inside of each ramekin with granulated sugar. Reserve.
• Put the remaining stick of butter and chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Set the bowl on a saucepan filled with about 1-inch of boiling water. Be sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Gently stir the butter and the chocolate together until melted and the mixture is smooth. Turn off the heat and reserve.
• Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. (This can also be done with a hand beater.) Beat the egg mixture until it doubles in size, and gets very thick and very pale.
• Gently whisk the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently stir in the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and let rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the ramekins, and arrange them on individual serving plates. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with crushed candy cane.
• HOHOHOHOHO!!!

CANDIED YAM SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and pecans. Simmer for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place drained yams in a large bowl and mash finely with a potato masher (leaving some chunked pieces). Pour sugar/pecan mixture over yams. Stir until combined thoroughly. Add in cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer to a metal pie pan. Top with marshmallow topping. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees F. Remove from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 400 degrees F to brown the top, watching carefully to keep from over-browning.

CANDY CANE FUDGE

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square pan with foil and grease the foil with 1 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle with half of the crushed candy; set aside., In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons butter. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Stir in 2/3 cup milk. Carefully pour over candy layer in prepared pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes., Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine white baking chocolate and remaining butter. Microwave on high for 40-50 seconds; stir until smooth. Stir in the cream of tartar, remaining milk and candy. Spread over chocolate layer., Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from pan. Invert onto a cutting board; remove foil. Cut into 1-in. squares.