Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting (and homemade salted caramel sauce!)

 Figuring out what to bake for a big group can be tricky. Some people like something simple, light and fruity; other people require a serious dose of chocolate. A couple of weeks ago, I put together a little cupcake display for a party, and I think I got the balance down pretty well! The bottom tier was a light red velvet cupcake with tangy cream cheese frosting (recipe here). For the top two tiers, I went with something kind of over-the-top but wonderfully indulgent and delicious. Tender chocolatey cupcakes are topped with a light and fluffy salted caramel frosting - it's all drizzled with golden-brown salted caramel sauce and topped off with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt.
The salt isn't overwhelming, and it's the perfect balance to the caramel and chocolate. Definitely take the time to make the sauce at home - it's better than anything store-bought. These are a crowd-pleaser for sure, and I have a few friends in mind who will definitely be getting birthday boxes of these sometime soon!
Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

(from Brown Eyed Baker)

for the cupcakes:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream

for the salted caramel frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup salted caramel sauce (recipe below)

4 cups powdered sugar

to garnish:

leftover salted caramel sauce

fleur de sel (or other flaky sea salt)

Make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 standard-size, 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth, and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture, beating until smooth.
Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix each addition until just incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
To finish, pipe frosting onto the top of each cupcake (or use an offset spatula to spread the frosting), drizzle with some additional salted caramel sauce, and sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de del.
-makes 20-24 cupcakes

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

(from Brown Eyed Baker)

2 cups granulated sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)

Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy saucepan, with a capacity of at least 2 or 3 quarts. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. You'll see that the sugar will begin to form clumps, but that's okay; just keep whisking, and as it continues to cook, they will melt back down.
Stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted, and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks.
Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. It should look almost reddish-brown, and have a slight toasted aroma. Be very careful not to burn it - this can happen in a matter of seconds!
Once the caramel is golden-brown, add the butter all at once. Be careful, as the caramel will bubble up when the butter is added. Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream into the caramel. Again, be careful because the mixture will bubble up like crazy again.
Whisk until all of the cream has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce. Add the fleur de sel and whisk to incorporate.
Set the sauce aside to cool for 10-15 minutes and then pour into a glass jar and let cool to room temperature. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; warm up before using.
-makes about 2 cups of salt
Note: Brown Eyed Baker has a wonderful tutorial on making the sauce; my one note is that mine was done long before reaching 350 F. 

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies with Homemade Raspberry Jam

    The school year has pretty much come to an end, and though I still have some state tests to take (honestly, the worst part about those is really just sitting in a freezing cafeteria for three hours a day), I've had my last classes. Around Christmas, lots of my friends got their teachers gifts as little thank-you's; I was too busy around then to even think about this until the last day of school before vacation, but I decided to make up for it before the end of the school year.

     I decided to bake my teachers cookies, because let's be honest, who doesn't like cookies?! I started out trying to make raspberry macarons, but it was too humid and they cracked and it was late at night and I had spent all week taking finals and so I made vanilla bean sugar cookies. Which made a lot of sense in my head at the time... I already had the macaron filling, a delicious homemade raspberry jam, ready, so the sugar cookies became sandwiches.
      Luckily, they worked out really well. The cookies are chewy and buttery, and the vanilla goes perfectly with the tart raspberry. Plus, how cute are these when they're nestled into mini bakery boxes?
    Enjoy!

 Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies with Homemade Raspberry Jam

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

(adapted from Beyond Kimchee)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 large (or 2 small) vanilla beans

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar, for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla bean(s) lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll into 1" balls (I used a cookie scoop) and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges get lightly golden.

Homemade Raspberry Jam

(from Ladurée Sucré; wording slightly adapted from Not So Humble Pie)

225g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar

2 tsp powdered pectin

375g (3 cups) french raspberries

1/2 lemon

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and pectin.
Using an immersion blender, puree the fresh raspberries and then pour into a medium sauce pan.
Over low heat bring the berries to just barely warm, then add the sugar and pectin mixture and the juice from the half lemon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for two minutes.
Pour the jam into a bowl and cover. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until chilled.

Sandwich two cookies with a layer of raspberry jam inbetween.
      -makes about 12 sandwich cookies

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

Buttermilk Biscuits with Cinnamon Spiced Butter

 The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always the busiest of the year for me. If you take a look at food blogs on a regular basis, you will see that they are full of recipes for sky-high pies, indulgent holiday breakfasts, and, most importantly, Christmas cookies! Not to worry, there are plenty of those recipes to come on here, but today I want to take a break from all that and talk about biscuits.
  These biscuits are not tall and reminiscent of a certain doughboy's, but they are flaky and the perfect bite-sized side dish. Even better, their layers and little holes are ideal for filling up with a sweet and salty cinnamon butter. Most importantly, they are a wonderful accompaniment to a table of rich Thanksgiving foods, especially after having stood in the cold all morning with my little cousins at the parade!
  Enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits with Cinnamon Spiced Butter 

(slightly adapted from Food Network)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) very cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk plus a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice, allowed to sit together for a few minutes)
Cinnamon Spiced Butter (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl.

Cut the butter into small pieces. Cut the butter into the dough with a pastry cutter or a fork until it looks like coarse sand. Add the buttermilk and continue to cut the dough together. 

Turn out onto a floured surface and gently bring together. Gently press the dough into a rectangle until it is between 1/2 and 3/4-inch thick.

Use a round cutter that has been floured to cut the biscuits. Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

Remove biscuits from freezer and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet so they are touching each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with spiced butter.

Cinnamon Spiced Butter

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, softened

Mix dry ingredients together. Blend together with the butter until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.

TWD: Rugelach / Apricot Lekvar

So these so-called "simple" recipes in the book are going to appear right about... when?? This was another one that took a super long time to make!
While I was baking them, I was thinking that no way was it possible for them to be worth the time and effort that went in to making the recipe. (OK, to be fair, I skipped the slightly time-consuming step of toasting the nuts). But they were so, so worth it. YUM. Thanks to Margaret of The Urban Hiker and Jessica of My Baking Heart for choosing this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.
I had never made rugelach before this, and remembered them as always slightly dry, small cookies we would buy in plastic containers at the supermarket around Jewish holidays (even though we aren't Jewish, but we also eat challah all the time, so who cares). These are neither dry nor small.
They are gigantic! This recipe starts off with a surprisingly simple cream cheese dough, just made in the stand mixer, which is then chilled for a couple of hours. Then it is rolled out and filled with lekvar. This is a sort of spread, I have learned, which in this case is made with prunes or apricots. I made it with apricots and while it nearly made my immersion blender die and I had to pull out the food processor despite my laziness, it was fairly simple.

Over the lekvar comes cinnamon sugar, tons of chopped nuts (I used pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans), and tons of dried fruit (I used cherries, golden raisins, and dates). Okay, bear with me for a moment - what's up with dates? Seriously, I put them in because my dad requested it, but nobody told me that I would have to pit them after I bought them! Also, they look like cockroaches and are way too sticky. Not okay...
The dough is rolled up like cinnamon buns and the logs are refrigerated for another few hours (I did it overnight). Then they are sliced, dunked in more cinnamon sugar and nuts, and baked.

As you can see above, this recipe does not make a huge number of cookies. But, and I do not exaggerate, these things are the size of hockey pucks. One will be more than enough. Unless you're like me and the rest of the people who appreciate the goodness of sugar and butter, and then it's more like one until you feel like you just have to have another one.
Despite how long these took to make, they are so worth it. They received great reviews from my dad's work buddies, who got a big bin of them this morning. Please go try it out!

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers: Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.-

So, a swiss swirl ice cream cake. This was the most time consuming challenge. EVER. It starts off with a swiss roll. It's kind of like a jelly roll - it's a thin sponge-type cake, which is rolled up with sweetened whipped cream inside. Even on its own, the swiss roll was delicious! It got sliced and I lined a bowl with it. In to the freezer for some firming up!



Then came a layer of white chocolate ice cream. Instead of using a the vanilla ice cream recipe from the challenge, I used David Lebovitz's recipe (I just got his ice cream book, which I am loving). It got spread up the sides of the cake-lined bowl. It was really great on its own - I thought it was the yummiest part of the whole challenge.



After that, came a layer of raspberry ice cream, also from David's book. It was also so yummy - it had a bit of a sweet+sour taste that was so addictive.



Wait - I forgot! Between the layers of ice cream came a layer of homemade hot fudge sauce! This was quick and easy to make. I thought that it was going to become hard as a rock in the freezer, but it stayed nice and smooth - almost like another layer of ice cream!

Once the dessert was assembled, I let it stay in the freezer for the day. Once I got home at night, I flipped it on to a plate and found....



THIS! I was so happy with how it looked - I thought it was going to look really messy. Ten minutes later, we cut into it.



It was SO GOOD. I loved it - and how it looked. I would love to say that I'll make this again and again, but it's simply too time consuming. Maybe once in a while, because the taste was worth the effort. If you want the recipe, you can find it on the Sunita's blog (link at the beginning of this post). Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze

Do you ever make a recipe with really high expectations, but it ends up just not working out for you? It's not that it's BAD, it's just not great, and you know you'll never make it again. That's what happened with this cake(s). The batter is simple to put together. it uses yogurt and lemon zest, but since I didn't have any lemons, I used some lemon yogurt. It also uses some almond meal, which you can definitely taste in the end result (in a good way). This recipe makes one 9x5" loaf cake, but I made it into twelve pretty big cupcakes. After they cooled, it was time for the glaze. It is a simple glaze made of marmalade heated with a little bit of water. I used orange marmalade instead of lemon, because that was what I had. It took FOREVER to strain, though, so I ended up not using that much of it.
All in all, these cakes were just okay. I didn't love them, but they were tasty. I won't be making them again, but I can cross them off my TWD Rewinds list! If you want to try them for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Enjoy!

Daring Bakers: Orange Tian

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Sorry, I'm still away without the camera, so no pictures until Tuesday. So this month's Daring Bakers challenge was Orange Tian. I had never heard of this before, so I was excited to try it. When I looked over the recipe, no one part of it seemed particularly hard, there were just a lot of steps. So here we go:

Step one: Orange Segments. I didn't know how to segment an orange, so I used a youtube video, which really helped (link at the bottom). It got easy after a while!

Step two: Caramel. This was fairly easy to make, except for a quick scare when I added the juice and it bubbled like crazy. I think I may have over-cooked it, though, because it came out tasting sort of bitter.

Step three: Pate Sablee. This was very easy to make, since basically you are just dumping stuff in a food processor! I liked that it was very easy to roll out. I had some left over, so I baked some into plain cookies, which were very yummy.

Step four: Orange Jam. I had never made jam before, and it was a lot of fun. The only thing I found annoying was the blanching, because it took a really long time. I made a double batch so that we could keep some for toast and things like that, and we loved it.

Step five: Whipped Cream. This was simple. The only issue I had was that the jam didn't mix in easily (it stayed in clumps). I used agar agar instead of gelatin, because I'm vegetarian, and it worked out fine.

Step six: Assembling. I don't have individual cookie cutters that have high enough sides, so I used a springform pan, which was fine. First you put in a layer of orange segments. Then comes the whipped cream, then a jam-covered round of pate sablee. In to the freezer it goes!

Step seven: EAT. I thought it was just okay. The pate sablee and the jam were great, but the caramel was bitter and the whipped cream was sort of bland.

All in all, this was a fun challenge. The finished dessert was okay, but I probably won't use this recipe again. If you want to give it a try for yourself, let me know how it goes! Enjoy!

Orange Tian:

Equipment required:
• Cookie cutters . Ideally, you should have about 6 cookie cutters to build the desserts in and cut the circles of dough (see photo). The cookie cutters will be the size of your final dessert, so they should be the size of an individually-sized tart mold. If you don’t have round cookie cutters you could use an individually-sized cheesecake mold without its base.
• A food processor (although the dough could be made by hand too)
• A stand-up or hand mixer
• Parchment paper or a silicone sheet
• A baking sheet
• A rolling pin

For the Pate Sablee:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
granulated sugar 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon; 2.8 oz; 80 grams
vanilla extract ½ teaspoon
Unsalted butter ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
Salt 1/3 teaspoon; 2 grams
All-purpose flour 1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons; 7 oz; 200 grams
baking powder 1 teaspoon ; 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

For the Marmalade:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
Freshly pressed orange juice ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
pectin 5 grams
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar.

In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

[See YouTube video in the References section below for additional information on segmenting oranges.]

For the Caramel:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.

[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!]

For the Whipped Cream:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snuggly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough.

Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

Resources:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tian.htm (An article about the dessert known as tian.)

YouTube link on how to segment an orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5mcEEBlcI

To learn more about Pectin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectin

What to substitute for Pectin: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Dictionary/P/Pectin-6222.aspx