Christmas "Crack"

How many of you make Christmas "Crack" at this time of year? 

Most commonly it's made with a layer of saltine crackers covered in caramel (or toffee) and topped with chocolate. A number of variations exist, employing Ritz crackers, pretzels, or graham crackers as the base. Some people add sprinkles or chopped nuts to the chocolate layer, while others drizzle with white chocolate to decorate. Regardless, the end result delights the senses: sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy. It's very more-ish. 

My sister and I have made this a few times now, after finding a recipe on Pinterest. We've had mixed results. The first year, the caramel was more firm, but the second year it was very soft, sticky, and gooey. Both years, the treat had to be kept in the fridge to ensure the chocolate was set. 

As a chocolatier, I find the recipe to be infuriating, since it isn't written to promote success. It doesn't give the temperature to which the sugar should be cooked, and the method of applying the chocolate ensures it will not be in temper (and therefore will not properly solidify without refrigeration). And if refrigeration is necessary to keep the chocolate firm, then the caramel layer will get stickier and stickier, as the sugar (which is hygroscopic) attracts and absorbs moisture from the fridge. 

Now, maybe that's ok. Maybe people want more of a soft caramel than a toffee atop the crackers. Maybe people like the stretchy, sticky "caramel" layer? (My mother said she prefers it this way.) Maybe chocolate melting on your fingers as you break it apart is ok? (It's certainly tasty.) But if that's not what you're looking for, then read on!

There are so many recipes floating around the internet that it can be difficult to know which ones are good and which ones won't turn out. When it comes to Christmas "Crack," if it doesn't require you to have a candy thermometre (or tell you how test which cooked sugar stage you've reached), then you have to accept that the result will be hit or miss. This is basic science. The temperature to which sugar is cooked will determine its crystal structure -- the higher the temperature, the more firm it becomes. Cook it to soft ball and you've got a soft caramel or fudge texture, firm ball and you've got something more like a firm caramel or nougat. To achieve a snappy toffee or brittle texture, the sugar has to be cooked to hard crack -- and that can't be reached by boiling the sugar for only 30 seconds as our recipe indicated, nay, warned us not to surpass. (I admit, I ignored this warning and let it boil a few minutes longer than recommended, though I resisted the urge to break out a thermometre.) All to say, before you make your crack, it's worth considering whether you'd prefer a chewy caramel or crunchy toffee texture, and look for a recipe that supports that goal. 

Regarding the chocolate, some recipes tell you to sprinkle the chocolate over the top of the hot pan when it comes out of oven, while others tell you to melt it in the microwave and then spread it over the top. In either scenario, if you're using real chocolate, it will come out of temper (even if you melted it the right way to maintain temper), because the temperature is just too high. It will require refrigeration to solidify and it will likely experience bloom. You could let the crackers and cooked sugar cool for a few minutes before adding the chocolate (which is what we did), and as long as the chocolate was melted in a way that maintained its temper, then it will solidify at room temperature within about 5 minutes. (The way to do this is to melt the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts at 50% power (20-30 seconds each, stirring each time), stopping while there are still pieces of chocolate remaining, and letting the residual heat melt out those remaining pieces while stirring.) You'll have chocolate that doesn't melt when touched, can be kept at room temperature, and has a sheen to it (if that's your goal). Thus, before making your crack, it's worth considering whether you'd rather store it at room temperature or if you have room in your fridge to keep it, and proceed accordingly. 

It's worth pointing out that putting tempered chocolate atop toffee isn't without its own challenges. Sometimes the chocolate will separate from the toffee layer (I've experienced this after making almond roca). As a result, some chocolatiers choose to top toffee with melted chocolate (not tempered) because it will adhere better, but then sprinkle nuts over the top to hide the inevitable bloom that appears. There's no right or wrong here -- it's a choice to be made. And no one will fault you for more sprinkles or nuts!

All this said, the most important decision, in my opinion, is whether to make it or not, because, despite this blog post, if you choose to make Christmas "Crack" you really can't go wrong. Whether the toffee is chewy or brittle, whether the chocolate is tempered or not, the end result is delicious -- nay, addictive.

Tell me, have you tried making Christmas "Crack"? How did it turn out? 

Happy holidays everyone!

Maintaining Momentum

Since starting the Professional Chocolatier program in January, I've made seven confections: strawberry rhubarb pate de fruits, strawberry truffles, marzipan espresso bonbons, blueberry ganache bonbons, molasses caramels, port wine truffles, and gianduja bonbons. I've loved the opportunity to try new techniques and flavours -- and I think my friends have enjoyed the samples as well. At this point, the course is pivoting away from recipe development to production planning based in research, but I really don't want to lose the momentum I've gained in the kitchen. It's now up to me to continue challenging myself.

Last weekend, I had intended to take a break from the course (and so begins the slippery slope), because it has been more intense than I'd initially planned for and because the previous week had been very busy, with a trip to Halifax and a jazz gig, in addition to my usual work. But then one of my classmates asked if I could upload her assignment and photos to our discussion forum (Chef's Table) because she couldn't get it to work from her own computer. Always happy to assist (it's the professor in me, perhaps), I resized her photographs for upload and while so-doing began drooling over her image of almond roca. It looked absolutely amazing. (Note: In these assignments, we get to pick what recipes we're going to develop based on a series of parameters. This explains why she was submitting different confections than I was.)

Now, I'd never eaten almond roca, but it seemed as though everything about it was perfect. I'd also never made toffee, so it would be a chance to try something new if I convinced myself to do it. For a day or two I mulled it over in my head and then finally decided it had to happen. I located a recipe, trekked to Bulk Barn to purchase some roasted, salted almonds, and then came home to begin Liquid Hot MAGMA, the sequel. This time, I would be cooking brown sugar and butter to 290 F before adding almonds and slabbing it. Then I'd cover it in couverture and sprinkle more almonds. What's not to love? (Except, of course, for the whole cooking to 290 F part...)

Actually, the process went smoothly. Thanks to all of that butter, there was no concern whatsoever that I might have sugar sticking to my pot. But all of that butter did present challenges later in the process. You see, once everything had cooled and the couverture had set, my layered almond roca turned into some of the most delicious almond toffee and almond bark you've ever tasted -- but almond roca it was not.

While cutting it into pieces, the chocolate separated from the toffee for about half of the batch.

Initially, I was disappointed. But I got over that pretty quickly (trying to channel the life lessons of my alter ego Ginger Snaps). There will always be things that don't quite turn out right the first time you do them and, as failures go, this one wasn't all that terrible. It still tasted amazing. As well, thanks to what I've learned in the Professional Chocolatier program, I was able to diagnose the issue and note changes to make in the future to prevent the same issue.

I also realized that all of the little shards of chocolate, toffee, and almonds would make a fabulous topping for ice cream. So, in fact, if I were to ever open the chocolaterie that I am imagining for my course, I'd probably make this again -- exactly as I had -- and then break the whole thing up to sprinkle over homemade ice cream.

Or maybe I'll just do that this summer?

My goal going forward will be to try something new most weekends. If you would like to help me maintain my momentum, I'd love to hear your suggestions for confections I should try next.