It All Began with Pop-Rocks....

Years ago I saw a blip on Food Network about a chocolate bar filled with Pop-Rocks. I was instantly intrigued and went in search of the illusive chocolate bar. No luck! Many years later, on a food adventure, I came across the Firecracker chocolate bar made by Chuao Chocolatier at a local wine store. A chocolate bar made with chipotle chilies, sea salt, and, yup, Pop-Rocks. Delicious! Everything I imagined it would be. Spicy, spunky, and smooth at the same time.

Of course it could not just stop with the chocolate bar, I had to take it further. So begin the search for a dessert recipe using Pop-Rocks. After a quick search, I found THE recipe: Heston Blumenthal's Popping-Candy Chocolate Cake. Had to try it! A hazelnut, chocolate, and Pop-Rocks crust, chocolate mousse center, and a ganache to top it all off. Whoa!

Finding Pop-Rocks seemed to be an adventure in itself. I headed to our local grocery store with three kids in tow. Mind you, these kids had just finished an impromptu, pretend fashion show so one was in a winter dress with flip-flops (it's August!), one had a long-sleeved shirt on with buttons gone askew, and the last had a swimsuit on with a purple tu-tu over it. Of course, as I made my way through the grocery store with three mismatched kids and 10 packs of Pop-Rocks (and only Pop-Rocks) in my cart, I met a couple from church I knew. I am sure we were a sight to behold! I needed a disclaimer on my cart stating that I do feed my children healthy food, not just Pop-Rocks, for dinner!

Having all the ingredients on hand, I started in on the cake. It took all day to make, build, and cool the layers of the cake. The recipe was written in metric form so it was a huge challenge to measure all the ingredients exactly. I was thankful for my grandmother's kitchen scale which had grams on it that I had to bring out from the back of the pantry. Thankfully the kids were well entertained today as I measured in grams and milliliters! Not my usual way to bake!

Looking at the recipe, I was concerned that the Pop-Rocks would not hold up to the warm, melted chocolate needed to make the crust and would pop before being enjoyed in the finished cake. Amazingly enough, the Pop-Rocks held up and as I ate the cake, they snapped, cracked, and popped away! What a fun, fun dessert! Having this recipe opens many doors for exploring baking with Pop-Rocks. Where will it lead me next? One never knows!

Here is the recipe if you want to give it go. Enjoy and rock away!

Heston Blumenthal’s popping-candy chocolate cake

For the popping-candy base
85g whole hazelnuts
40g milk chocolate
2 tsp mixed spice
100g popping candy

For the chocolate mousse
350g dark chocolate
400ml double cream
Pinch of salt

For the chocolate glaze
20g chocolate (same type as for the mousse)
120ml water
8 whole coffee beans
Couple of pinches of salt
30g cocoa powder
70g unrefined golden caster sugar

To make the base, preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/Gas Mark 4 and roast the hazelnuts for about 10 minutes until lightly coloured. Blend to a paste in a food processor, then set aside. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie (a large basin over a saucepan of simmering shallow water — take care that the water does not touch the basin) and stir in the ginger spice and popping candy. Next, fold in the hazelnut purée. Place the 12 cm ring mould on a serving dish and gently press in the base mixture to a depth of about 1cm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until hard.

To make the mousse, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a metal bowl. Bring 150ml of the cream to the boil in a small saucepan. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and stir extremely gently until all the chocolate has melted, watching carefully to ensure it doesn’t take on a granular texture. Add the salt to taste. Once the chocolate cream has cooled to room temperature, lightly whip the remaining 250ml cream to soft peaks, but do not overwhip. Fold into the chocolate mix. Pour over the base in the ring mould and place in the fridge to set for two hours.

To make the glaze, chop up the chocolate and set aside. Place the water, coffee beans and salt in a pan, whisk in the cocoa powder, then set over a medium heat and simmer for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put the sugar in a small pan and melt over a medium heat. Unrefined sugar will caramelise quickly, so keep an eye on it; when it does, pour over the coffee and cocoa mix — stand back, as it will bubble and spit. Beat in the chopped chocolate and, when melted, pass through a fine sieve. When cool, but still liquid, pour over the mousse to your preferred depth and return the cake to the fridge to set.

To serve, run a hot knife around the inside of the ring before removing the cake. When slicing it, again make sure the blade of the knife is nice and hot.

Recipe Brought to You by: http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/

What's in a Name?

Welcome to my blog! For those of you wondering why I would name my blog, "The Milk Carton", the name takes me back to the sweet moment of snack time in 3rd grade. My teacher, Mrs. Coleman, would break out the Roald Dahl books and we would indulge in a carton of whole milk. Not skim, whole milk. You know that delicious, thick milk that many of us have given up and replaced with skim? There was quite an art to drinking the milk in her class during snack time. First you had to take your pencil, hold it and the carton just so, and punch a whole in the top, then slipping the straw in, you had your first taste of ice cold milk. The perfect snack. It was one of my favorite moments in elementary school.

But why name the blog after something I had for a 3rd grade snack? Because that warm feeling of sitting by Mrs. Coleman's feet, listening to Roald Dahl, and drinking whole milk is brought around every time I bake a dessert, indulge in an amazing meal, or hit to road for a food adventure. This blog gives me a chance to share those moments with you. So sit back, read on, and enjoy with me!