Baking & blogging is big, seriously oh so big right now – but – I know you know this. So I got to thinking… who could nab the ‘That’s What He/She Said’ spot this week? Um, hello, I know THE baking & blogging ‘It girl’ of SA, which made bombarding Katelyn Williams from The Kate Tin blog with 1 meeellllion questions super easy. Ms Katie also happens to be the Creative Food Director for Expresso morning show on SABC 3. Katie was as sweet as apple pie & obliged with the biggest of smiles. Get your vintage aprons ready boys & girls… Katie makes you want to get all crazy in the kitchen – you’ll be licking the screen with the recipe she adapted just for PTS – we love you Katie!
Q: Katelyn! Welcome to Pass The Salt… We know you’re this extreme food person – what do you do from the time your alarm clock buzzes to the time you go to la la land? Nah, kidding – but do tell us a bit about your day job – go on…
A: My alarm goes off at 4am – roll out of bed & head over to the Expresso studio where the stylists make me look half-decent to go on live national television. After I’ve baked something absurdly decadent at a ridiculous hour, I plug in my coffee drip & plan the cooking inserts for the next few days worth of shows. Despite early mornings, we have loads of fun at Expresso – a ‘normal’ show can easily consist of a farm animal on our balcony, a live cook-along with viewers at home, models, dancers, celebs, dogs riding skateboards, bake-offs & just utter chaos really. So, a totally normal job.
Q: You call yourself a food nerd… What exactly does a food nerd do on a day-to-day basis? & does a food nerd have any superhero powers?
Caramelised white chocolate
Introducing my latest obsession. Caramelised white chocolate. It deserves it’s own sentence it’s just that good. I stumbled upon this creation one night by pure accident (I like to call it good chocolate karma) while reading through my twitter feed. I accidentally clicked on a tweet & before I knew it I was transported via a blog into the realm of golden caramel-coloured goodness. It was love at first sight and I knew I simply had to recreate this so-called caramelised white chocolate & make it my own. The main reason it’s so charming (I mean other than the fact that it’s chocolate), is that it consists of just two ingredients: white chocolate and a drizzle of oil. My secret ingredient though, which makes it even more delicious, is a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. Other than eating it straight out of a jar with a spoon, I have also day-dreamed about drizzling it over ice cream, spreading it between cookies or cakes, making cake pops from it, blobbing it on top of vanilla cupcakes & stirring it into hot milk on a chilly evening. How I lived my life up until this point, without caramelised white chocolate in my life, is a mystery, but now that I’ve found it, I want to share the delicious secret with everyone, and I hope once you have tried it, you will do the same!
300g good-quality white chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)*
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
To make the caramelised white chocolate, preheat the oven to 120C. Spread the chocolate on a non-stick or lined baking sheet & drizzle with the oil. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes then remove and stir with a clean, dry spatula. Continue to cook for 30-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Don’t worry if the chocolate looks lumpy & chalky at some stage, it will smooth out & caramelize. Once the chocolate is golden brown, stir in a pinch of salt. If it’s still lumpy you can place it in a food processor to smooth it out & add a little cream or oil if necessary. Store in a jar at room temperature.
*use a white chocolate with a minimum of 30% cocoa butter content for best results*
*recipe courtesy of Katelyn Williams & The Kate Tin Blog*
Check out Ms Katie on her fab rad blog The Kate Tin – just *click click here* http://the-kate-tin.blogspot.com/
OR follow Katie on the Twirrreeer @KatelynWilliams
Because… ‘That’s What She Said’
No Comments