There was going to be a little mug cake tonight. I melted the chocolate with the salted butter, and headed to the fridge…
And we were out of eggs.
I grumbled. I pouted. But I would not leave the kitchen empty handed. So I improvised. Added a few chopped walnuts. Gave it a new name. “Mug truffles”. And it was exactly what I hadn’t known that I had wanted.
Like that rule that I should eat wholesome foods, and eschew items with ingredients I can not pronounce. Most of the time, I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Pollan’s edict.
Occasionally, some demon from within takes over my motor functions and puts products with “chocolate flavor” in my basket, like this “Chocolate Flavor Spread with Caramel Candy Pieces”. In my defense, it seems much more wholesome in Swedish: “Chokladkrokant Bredbar“. And IKEA sells it in other English speaking countries as “Chocolate Butterscotch Spread” which, if I use my imagination, is something that Nigel Slater would recommend that I spoon on some warm snacking cake on a lazy Sunday morning. And then there is the usage suggestion: “Use when baking, in home-made ice cream, in a glass of warm milk for breakfast or enjoy as it is directly from the jar.” Directly from the jar, you say, IKEA? I do believe I will.
If you find yourself near an IKEA with a similar demon inside of you, I encourage you to let it be in control when you walk past this item. Happy Sunday!
Here’s a public service announcement for you.
This product exists, and my brother smuggled it across the border from Canada. I started weeping.
That’s all for now. I have a date with the jar and a spoon.
Sugar High Friday is a monthly food blogging event created by Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess and is hosted each month on a different food blog. This month’s host for the event is Palachinka, and the theme is “Copycat”, where you copy one of your favorite store bought candies.
I spent a good couple of weeks thinking of the best candy I could copy. Would it be Snickers, my favorite bar candy? Pecan Divinity? Nutella? (I was seriously considering Nutella, until I realized that it would completely ruin any semblance of a healthy diet if I made it and then ate the entire concoction in two days.)
Finally I turned to Turkish candies, because Turkey happens to have some of the best confections: Lokum (Turkish Delight), Dragees (chocolate covered nuts and orange peels), Pişmaniye (a type of wispy candy floss that I can’t describe with any justice). My mother happens to be in Turkey this week, and now that I live across the country from her, I know that I’m going to be depressed when she returns and I get calls of what wonderful things she has brought home. Maybe she will send me a care package (hint).
And so, after thinking of all the candies that I wouldn’t be getting, I decided – why not create one of my favorites here at home? I finally settled on cezerye, a Turkish candy made of carrots! Now, although they have a lot of vitamin A and B from the carrots, they also have enough sugar to fully sweeten your blood, so I wouldn’t exactly qualify them as health food, but they certainly are delicious.
Home-Made Cezerye
makes about twenty five candies
Ingredients
2 cups grated carrots
3/4 cups loosely packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
about 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/2 cup ground petit beurre biscuits
1/2 cup shredded dried (unsweetened) coconut
Method
1. Grate a few medium carrots and put into a medium saucepan with the sugar. I simply took my cup measure, loosely packed it three quarters of the way with brown sugar, topped it with the white sugar, and added water to wet the sugar (as much fit in the cup).
2. Simmer on low heat for a half hour or more, covered. Add the ground nuts and petit beurre cookies, and continue to cook uncovered for a few minutes. Take off the stove, and let cool enough to handle the mixture.
3. To make the carrot balls, roll the dough balls in some shredded coconut, as you would if you were making truffles. Place in the fridge for at least an hour, and eat!
These come out a little bit moist, but they should dry as they sit.
