American Baker in Germany

 This cake was for my own 40th birthday. And one of my favorite candy bars is Snickers. First, I had to gather up the elements. So, I made some milk chocolate ganache and peanut butter cake. And I made a recipe of my homemade caramel, only boiling it slightly less time to make is softer than usual. And I spooned it into a piping bag. I also had a lot of creamy peanut butter snickers bars. And don't forget the peanuts! So, I started out filling a 6-inch peanut butter cake with a layer of ganache. But I'm not finished yet. I cut snickers bars into slices. And placed the snickers slices and peanuts in the cake. And I filled the rest of the spaces with ganache. And added the next layer. And I frosted the cake with ganache. And I dripped some caramel on the cake. I piled pieces of snickers on top. And piped some ganache along the bottom of the cake. I added more caramel to fill in the spaces. But now the drip looks really strange. So, I smoothed it on with a spatula. Finally, I adde...

 This is a recipe I have been reluctant to make in the past. So early warning, this recipe contains a very high amount of lactose and is not appropriate for people with lactose sensitivity. One Ingredient Caramel: One can (397g) sweetened condensed milk As promised, only one ingredient. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a small baking pan or heat safe container.  Cover in tin foil and bake in another container with about an inch of water at 425°F or 220°C for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until mixture turns a golden brown. There may be a thin layer of skin on top. You can either skim it off the top or blend the mixture to get rid of the chunks.  Mixture will thicken to more solid as it cools. A few notes, I have seen this recipe by boiling the closed can of sweetened condensed milk, but in leaving the can closed, there is a chance of it exploding, which can cause quite serious injury. I didn't want to take that chance, so I went with this method.  Also, this mixture is mo...

 These bar cookies are amazingly delicious and are basically a layer of shortbread, with a layer of caramel on top with a layer of chocolate ganache on top of that. Millionaire Bars: Shortbread: 2 1/4 cup (280g) flour 1 cup (250g) butter 1/3 cup (70g) sugar 1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp vanilla  Caramel: 1 cup (200g) sugar 3 tbsp water 1/4 cup (60g) corn syrup (or rice syrup or glucose) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup (110mL) cream 1/2 cup (125g) butter  Ganache: 1/2 cup (100g) chocolate (dark or milk by taste) 1/2 cup (110mL) cream To make shortbread: Cream butter.  Add sugar and cream together.  Add the egg and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the salt, vanilla and flour and beat in. Try not to overbeat. Mixture will resemble coarse crumbs.  Press dough into the bottom of the baking pan. I used a 6 inch square pan, but a larger pan would probably work as well. Bake at 350°F or 180°C for about 30 minutes or until shortbread begins to look golde...