Best Of

Re: The Great Icrontic Bake-off!

NY style cheesecake topped with dream whip and crab apple wine shatter/hard crack!

EDIT: Here's a breakdown of the experience!

Cheesecake - Cheesecake is super simple to make so I won't get into too much detail and basically any recipe will work. Biggest thing is mixing everything well with a mixer so it starts to fluff as it incorporates air and then spreading it evenly over your crust.

The Crust - This is a bit harder (I used honey gram cracker crumbs and butter) to get right. I didn't grease the bottom of my bunting pan quite enough so there was a bit of stickiness. I was going for a crust that "peaked" in order to make it look like a pizza so I gave quite a bit of more squishing than I normally do. Worked out fairly well I think, 8/10.

                                                               **The Hard Crack!**

This was the dangerous part as I was "boiling" off the alcohol in the wine so I'll give quite a bit of detail. Attempt at your own risk.

Required Things: 2 cups of crab apple wine (13% ABV), 2 cups water, 4 cups sugar, IR thermometer, Metal stick thermometer, parchment paper, metal pans, a flame less heating source, a very well ventilated area

1) Combine wine, water and sugar into pot. Stir until dissolved (may require slight heat)
2) Bring temperature up slowly to 175F and hold for ~35 minutes. Use IR thermometer to check temp of inside pot slightly above liquid. Use stick thermometer to check temp of the liquid itself.

DO NOT GO OVER 200F AT ANY POINT AS ALCOHOL VAPOR MAY SPONTANEOUSLY IGNITE
VAPOR ALCOHOL IS HEAVIER THAN AIR AND WILL POOL ON THE FLOOR IF NOT VENTILATED PROPERLY

3) Once the alcohol is burned off (the swirling "mini tornados" in the liquid will have ceased) heat to a minimum of 280F and a max of 310F without stirring. A large increase in volume will occur at this stage due to the liquid vaporizing and getting trapped within the sugar. Mine increased 5x. Plan accordingly
4) You can check the consistency of the hard crack by getting some on a spoon and dropping a few drops into cold water. It'll form either long hard strings instantly or small hard balls.
5) Once desired consistency is reached turn off heat and transfer contents immediately to pans lined with parchment paper to cool completely. Do not get liquid on anything other than the parchment paper or you'll be in for a fantastic cleaning job.

ISSUES: I initially only heated my liquid to 230F so I ended up with a thick maple syrup consistency. To fix it I transferred it all back into a pot and added 1 cup corn syrup and 1 cup water to thin it out again and then reheated it. I had to stop at 282F due to some esters in the wine that started to smoke. If using a pure sugar/water mix you'll be able to get to 300F without issues (Roughly the point of 99% pure sugar). Varying wines will have different esters that may not withstand temperatures of that magnitude. Keep that in mind.

All in all it was a fantastic experience. The cheesecake was a hit and I learned way more about candy making than I should of for a bake off! Thanks @GnomeQueen for putting it on and I hope we can have another showdown in the future!

MrTRiot

5

Re: Icrontic Pandemic Playtime 2020 - Gaming Laptop Giveaway

Please also opt me out of the laptop; best of luck to everyone in the drawing tomorrow!!

malia

1

Re: What is Icrontic playing? Spring 2020 edition

I thought that with lockdown I would playing a lot more games, but I've been filling my non-work hours with an online class, reading, walking and general busy work, so I'm only managing a few hours per week plus a bit of mobile gaming.

Here's the current list (not even mentioning the pile of games I've abandoned and want to get back to).
1. Animal Crossing New Horizons - got through the main objectives, so just check in for half an hour per day to check the stock market, look for fossils, and chip away at a few tasks.
2. My Time at Portia - recommended by Brian. As he said, a bit buggy but there's lots to do. I suck at relationship building.
3. Breath of the Wild - JUST started this one (still on the great plateau) but it's stunning!
4. Pokemon GO - this accompanies me on my (almost) daily walks. Working on the Pokedex and research tasks gives me something to strive for.
5. Little Big Planet 2 - playing with Dave - we're down to the final part, but as we haven't played in a few weeks I'm intimidated as I find the controls a bit confusing (Always opening the various menus by accident and not knowing how to close them)
6. Pokemon Sword - took a break when ACNH came out, but ready to get back to it.
7. Mobile games I dip in and out of: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Emoji Blitz, Food Fantasy, DASH Adventure, Match City

elyxandra

1

Re: The Great Icrontic Bake-off!

And so it begins.... What I hope becomes a Glazed Cherry Bread.

Colgere

2

Re: The Great Icrontic Bake-off!

First time making Bakewell Tarts!
I wanted to try something in these tart pans I bought back around crimbo time. Did them with raspberry jam and sprinkled some almonds on top. Got 16 mini tarts, and had a bit more filling than I needed (probably put in too much jam, I dunno). I'm pretty pleased with them given I really had no idea what to expect. I love me some almonds, and raspberries too!
I would've liked them a little sweeter, perhaps some thin icing. Also some recipes seems to use a lot less egg, which might've been good.
https://entertainingwithbeth.com/cherry-bakewell-tart-recipe/