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Chef David Robertson Shares The Recipe For His Delicious “Dirty Twixter” Bars

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The GOODS from The Dirty Apron

Vancouver, BC | Chef David Robertson’s The Dirty Apron Cookbook: Recipes, Tips and Tricks for Creating Delicious, Foolproof Dishes is now available across North America.

The cookbook originally hit Canadian shelves last October, and quickly became a bestseller. The book contains a collection of over 80 recipes of the Dirty Apron’s best tried-and-true signature dishes, along with many of the tips and tricks shared in the school’s classes. Written with the home cook in mind, The Dirty Apron Cookbook is illustrated with full-page food photos and instructional sequences, and loaded with chefs’ notes and tricks of the trade.

A portion of all book sales goes to The Reign Foundation, which raises funds to keep over 150 underprivileged Cambodian children in school by providing tuition, books, transportation, uniforms and more.

To celebrate The Dirty Apron Cookbook’s international debut, they’ve shared The Dirty Twixter Bar recipe, recently featured as one of Scout’s “Awesome Things We Ate”. A hybrid of Chef Robertson’s two favourite chocolate bars, Twix and Skor, these are sinfully rich…

The Dirty Twixter Bars

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YIELDS 36 BARS

Brown sugar shortbread base
1 c brown sugar
31?2 c all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp vanilla paste
2 c unsalted butter, in small cubes
Dulce de leche filling
2 cans (each 12 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp fleur de sel
Salted caramel ganache
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 lb 21?2 oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped
1 c unsalted butter 21?4 c whipping cream 21?2 c granulated sugar 2?3 c water
21?2 tsp fleur de sel
2 tsp vanilla paste

Brown sugar shortbread base Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12- x 16-inch half sheet pan that has a 1-inch rim with aluminum foil. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the brown sugar and flour until combined. Add the vanilla and beat until well mixed. Slowly add the butter, one cube at a time, and beat at medium-low until the dough is just combined. Press the shortbread dough evenly into the prepared pan, then prick it all over with?a fork. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until set and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Dulce de leche filling Place the cans in a pot large enough to cover them with?4 inches of water. Add the water, bring to a boil on high heat and cook, uncovered,
for 4 hours, checking occasionally to be sure the water is still covering the cans. (Add more water, if necessary, to be sure the cans are constantly covered with water.) Turn off the heat and set aside, leaving the cans in the water until everything comes to room temperature.

Open the cans and spoon the sticky brown dulce de leche into a bowl. Using a spoon, stir until the mixture is smooth, then spread it over the shortbread base. Sprinkle evenly with fleur de sel. Set aside.

Salted caramel ganache Place the dark and milk chocolates in a large heatproof bowl and set aside. Combine the butter and cream in a small pot over low heat and cook until warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat the sugar and water in a large pot over high heat and boil the mixture, without stirring, until it reaches 250°F. (Use a candy thermometer to test the temperature.) Slowly pour the cream mixture into this syrup to make a caramel. Stir in the fleur de sel and vanilla, then pour the salted caramel over the combined choc- olates and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Using a handheld blender, emulsify the mixture to make a ganache. Avoid making large bubbles. Pour this ganache over the dulce de leche and refrigerate the bars overnight. Cut into individual bars before serving.

Notes: Make sure to sprinkle a thin line of fleur de sel on top to make this an extra-special indulgence. This recipe makes a lot of bars. You can either halve the recipe and cook the Dirty Twixters in a 9- × 13-inch pan or cut them into squares, seal into an airtight container or plastic bags, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

DETAILS

Address: 540 Beatty Street, Vancouver, BC | V6B 2L3 | MAP
Telephone: 604-879-8588
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dirtyapron.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Dirty_Apron
Hours: Shop 7 days 10am-6pm, Cooking classes 5:30pm-9:30pm

GALLERY

  • Dirty Apron Cookbook- Front Cover copy
  • DA- Joey Armstrong 9
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  • Dirty Apron Cooking School
  • DA- Anastasia Chomlack 2
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  • Dirty Apron- The Dirty Twixter Bars
  • Dirty Apron- Crispy Seared Duck Breast with Gastrique and Apple and Green Bean Saute
  • Dirty Apron- Ginger-Soy Tuna Poke on Pressed Avocado
  • Dirty Apron Cooking School
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  • Dirty Apron- Poached Egg, Bacon and Rosti
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  • Dirty Apron Cooking School

PEOPLE

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David and Sara Robertson – Owners
Callie Cooper  – General Manager

ABOUT

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The Dirty Apron Cooking School is Vancouver’s newest, most exciting culinary playground. A place for the amateur, the culinary-inclined, or the curious, The Dirty Apron Cooking School offers a fun, relaxed environment to learn, explore, and unleash your inner chef.

Opened Summer 2009 with the intention of creating an environment for novices, foodies, and aspiring chefs to learn the tricks of the trade, The Dirty Apron Cooking School offers a selection of classes that vary from creating regional classics to understanding ingredient-driven basics and executing essential knife skills.

Classes are led by chef David Robertson whose pedigree is established in classic French cuisine and accented with achievements including a team-win for Gold in the 1996 Culinary Olympics. In addition to Robertson’s tutelage, The Dirty Apron Cooking School hosts celebrity and local guest chef appearances throughout the year. Instruction focuses on popular regional cuisines as well as basic skills for ingredient focused cooking. Students use only the best tools of the trade thanks to partnerships with All Clad cookware, Wusthof knives, Wolf ranges, and Sub Zero fridges.

Students walk through each step required in crafting a complete meal; appetizer, entrée and dessert. After preparation and plating are finished, students will gather at communal tables in the stylish dining room to enjoy their creations with a glass of wine.

In addition to individual classes, The Dirty Apron Cooking School will also offer corporate and group bookings; perfect for team building, corporate retreats, birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and staff parties.

Alongside expert tutelage, The Dirty Apron Cooking School features a shop stocked with all the kitchen wares utilized in classes and essential for the home kitchen.  All products have been carefully considered and have passed the stringent Dirty Apron Cooking School three-point chef approval system and are tried and tested so that when it comes home, that item does exactly what it promises.

AWARDS & PRESS

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“What I loved about the class was that David created such a calming, stress free environment, the participants had such a wide range of expertise and we all felt that we had accomplished something big.” Oct 2009, Bal Arneson, is the author of Everyday Indian, and The Appetizer’s new west coast correspondent. For the full article click here.

“After four entertaining hours, and four courses (the last poached pear dish was actually prepared by Robertson and his kitchen brigade) we roll happily home, armed with a booklet of recipes with which to wow our loved ones.” Deana Lancaster, North Shore News November 04, 2009 For full article click here.

“Research showed 70 per cent of participants would be women but classes are more of a 50-50 split between men and women. “A 55-year-old man who’d never cooked in his life took a class with his wife. He had a blast and his wife fell in love with him all over again,” says Robertson.” By Mia Stainsby, Vancouver Sun, September 18, 2009 For full article click here.

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