Once you’ve made some Spiced Apple Cider, or if you simply happen to have a bottle of storebought cider in the back of the fridge, it is a snap to make one of my favorite wintertime drinks, Caramel Apple Cider. I was first turned onto this drink on a visit to Starbucks, where it is generally available year-round but is often featured on the menu boards during the winter. The drink seems to retain heat much better than just about anything else, so not only does it taste great, but it keeps your hands warm when it is snowy outside!

The Starbucks version of this drink is made by steaming apple cider until it is very hot, then adding caramel and whipped cream. I start mine with homemade cider and heat it up in a saucepan if I am going to be serving a crowd and in a mug in the microwave if I’m only serving myself. Once the cider is steaming hot, stir in about 1 1/2 tbsp caramel sauce, then add whipped cream and another drizzle of caramel. Use any kind of caramel for this drink, whether it’s homemade sauce or your favorite topping brand - I’ve even melted solid caramels into it in a pinch and it turned out very well. I often add a very small pinch of salt to the caramel on top for that salted caramel effect, too.

The sweetness of the caramel highlights the sweetness of the apples in the cider, while the whipped cream on top is a nice, cool contrast to the steamy beverage below. And the caramel on top? Why, that’s just an excuse to eat even more caramel. As though I needed one.
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Apple cider is a type of unfiltered apple juice made from pressing ripe apples to remove the liquid from them. It looks quite different from regular apple juice, which is filtered and is completely clear, because it is cloudy as a result of having apple particles still suspended in it. Many fans of cider will tell you that it has more flavor to it than regular apple juice does. It can be served chilled, but one of the most popular - and most delicious - things to do with a batch of apple cider is to spice it and serve it heated. It’s great for warming you up on a cold day when served this way.

Spiced cider. also known as mulled cider, can be made in a number of different ways with a number of different spices. To make spiced apple cider, add some cider to a medium or large saucepan (depending on how much or how little cider you want to make) and add in some whole spices to it. Use cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise and a bit of nutmeg. I actually don’t use very much nutmeg, so I’ll generally add in a sprinkle of ground nutmeg. Bring the cider to a boil, the remove from heat and let the cider steep with the spices in it for 15 minutes or so. Strain out the spices and reheat before serving.

If you don’t have whole spices, you can use small amounts of ground spices, but you should keep in mind that you won’t be able to strain them out easily and they’ll probably just sit at the bottom of the glass when you go to serve the cider.

The only real problem I have with pears is that they bruise easily. They are juicy, have great flavor and go well with a huge variety of sweet and savory dishes. The bruising is a problem, though, because it really has an impact on the appearance of sliced pears and - at the risk of sounding a bit silly - a cheese plate just doesn’t look the same with a bunch of bruised pears on it. Fortunately, there is at least one great use for slightly bruised, but still ripe, pears: pear butter.

Pear butter is basically a very thick, smooth applesauce-type dish that is made with pears. It gets the name “butter” from how silky smooth the finished puree is. I was inspired to make a batch after smelling the wonderful scents of Apple Cider Butter being cooked at the Smuckers factory last week, as well as by the fact that I had a bunch of bruised Bosc pears sitting on my kitchen counter when I returned from the trip. You can use any variety of pears for this.

The butter is easy to make: just cook the pears down with a little spiced cider and puree it. I always put pear butter through a strainer at least once to make sure it is as smooth as possible. I don’t add any extra sugar, but if you prefer yours a little sweeter, feel free to add in 1/4 cup or so of brown sugar. You can taste the spices from the cider - cinnamon, cloves, etc. - in the finished butter, but I add in a little bit extra to keep the flavors strong. This will keep well in the fridge for about a week (maybe two, if stored in an airtight container) and can be used as a spread for English muffins, biscuits, toast, pancakes and even savory things like pork chops (very tasty!).
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Custard powder is primarily made up of thickeners that give the pudding its texture. Cornstarch is usally the biggest component, since it is great for thickening liquids, disolves easily and is almost foolproof. The powder also contains flavorings - vanilla is the one you’re most likely to find in a “standard” custard powder - and a hint of yellow coloring. Yellow coloring gives the custard just enough color to look as though there are plenty of eggs in it, as most basic custards are thickend with eggs instead of powder.

You can find custard powder at some specialty markets and some markets that specialize in imports from other countries. If you’re traveling abroad, you should be able to find it pretty easily. Birds’s is a big name in custard powder, but even Pillsbury produces it for other markets. If you can’t find it, instant pudding mix is a great substitute.

The name is unassuming, but the Vanilla Slice is an almost iconic dessert in Australia. Much like the chocolate chip cookie in the US, you can find it just about anywhere that pastries are sold, from coffee shops to bakeries. There is even a big competition held every year to find the best slice in the country! Much like chocolate chip cookies, there are just about as many ways to make vanilla slices as there are people to eat them. The standard slice has some sort of pastry bottom and top, and a thick, vanilla custard filling.

I like to keep things simple and a basic version of the slice is very easy to make. It may not win a national bake-off against a dozen other vanilla slice recipes (although that depends on the competition!), but it tastes great if you’re a fan of vanilla and custard. I used some sheets of puff pastry to make the top and bottom of the slice. The puff pastry is baked and cooled, the used to line the bottom of the pan before adding the custard. It is pretty much the easiest use of puff pastry I can think of!

The custard is purposely made very thick so that the slices are easy to slice. It uses a lot of cornstarch to thicken it, as well as custard powder to add a bit of extra flavor and color. You can use the same amount of instant pudding mix if you don’t have custard powder. Some butter is added to the custard at the end of cooking to give it an extra rich flavor and make sure that the thick filling stays very tender. The custard isn’t too sweet, although it seems like there is a fair amount of sugar in it, and you really need to finish off the dessert with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar to make the whole thing come together. When finished, the vanilla slices taste like a Napoleon with a whole lot of filling.

Speaking of puff pastry, the technique I used here would be great for other flavor combinations. You could use a chocolate or coconut filling instead of the vanilla custard, or even cook up a thick batch of apple pie filling on the stovetop and sandwich it between sheets pastry for a quick, pie-like slice! The 1,2,3 Puff! Contest that Pepperidge Farm is holding is still accepting entries and any of these would be great jumping off points. Just be sure to send me a post card if you win! The grand prize is an all-expenses paid trip to New York (along with some foodie bonuses, like a tour of NYC pastry shops and bakeries!),but that’s just the bonus of experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.
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