Psychedelicatessen: Kushy Caramel Cake

“Welcome to Psychedelicatessen, a weekly column exploring the world of cannabis cuisine, including recipes from the great chefs and ganjapreneurs who fuel our appetite for adventure.”

Helping young talent be recognized is one of the best things about the High Times Cannabis Cup competitions. Cory Caudill, a 28-year-old with professional culinary experience, decided to go out on his own and start Bungle’s Edibles, a small business he runs completely independently. “Sometimes I’m up until 4 am getting everything packaged,” he says, “but I’m much happier working for myself!”

Cory’s hard work paid off, when his first entry into the 2014 Seattle Cannabis Cup competition caught the judges’ attention due to its incredible originality and interactivity, earning him a Third Place Award in the Medical Edibles category. Bungles’ S’Mores Cup was a small chocolate and graham cracker truffle topped by a homemade, infused marshmellow. The instructions invited users to “torch me please!” which judges did, using the plentiful torches on hand for the occasion. “Everyone’s got torches these days,” Caudill laughs. “I play off of nostalgia, so I thought it would be fun.”

Despite not having a staff to help, and using only the most basic packaging, Caudill was able to impress judges with his technical execution, great flavors and novel experience; creating a memorable moment for everyone. Winning the Cup “absolutely legitimized my business,” Cory says. “I’m much more well-known now!”

This amazingly delicious recipe for a molten caramel cake comes from Cory’s days working at a little Italian restaurant in Bellevue, WA. “It’s one of my favorites to have up my sleeve to impress friends after dinner,” he says, and indeed, it is a fairly easy recipe for such an incredible reward. The deep toasted sugar flavor of the dulce de leche compliments the hash flavor with its earthy undertones, creating a super-classy dessert appropriate for special occasions. Definitely pair it with a fresh Chantilly Cream or vanilla ice cream to kick it up a notch!

I made my own dulce de leche for this recipe, which offers another opportunity for infusing hash. Simply add your desired amount of hash, a half gram or so, to the pot with the rest of the ingredients to infuse your caramel sauce. Dulce de leche simmers for three hours, allowing the cannabinoids to infuse into the whole milk. Spoon your luscious caramel sauce over ice cream or use it to make this recipe!

Kushy Caramel Cakes

Ingredients:

2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, plus more for ramekins
2 cups dulce de leche (double this recipe)
4 eggs, at room temperature
.75 or 3/4 of a gram of de-carbed cannabis concentrate (.75 of a gram of de-carbed concentrate should allow for about 100 mg per serving for quite a potent little treat.)
Maldon or flake sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

First, make the dulce de leche. If you’re doing it yourself, do it up to a week before. Plan for 4 hours of passive cooking time.

When you’re ready to make the cakes, butter six ramekins and preheat oven to 425º degrees F.

Create a double boiler by placing a metal mixing bowl over a large pot with an inch of water in it. Bring the water to a boil and place the white chocolate chips in the mixing bowl. Reduce the heat to keep the water steadily simmering.

Melt the white chocolate with concentrate over low heat making sure to stir constantly; when melted add the dulce de leche and stir until incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

Using a stand or hand mixer beat the butter with the sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition, until the mixture is pale and has doubled in volume, about 5-7 minutes.

Gradually add the white chocolate mixture. Shake the flour slowly, a little bit at a time to avoid lumps. Mix until completely combined.

Divide the batter among 6 ramekins. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt if desired.

Bake until the cakes until they are golden brown but the centers are still slightly soft; about 15 minutes.

Serve warm… perhaps with some vanilla ice cream or some Chantilly Cream.