Vanilla Banana Caramel Flans

I recently bought this book Small Batch Baking and i"m already in love with it. Thanks to Debby for such a wonderful book. I've already tried most of the recipes from the book with lovely results. This book serves for just 1 or 2 people, just small portions of baked goods. Have you ever tried to measure one teaspoon of an egg or even halve an egg?? This book does and the results are just perfect.  It satisfies the sweet tooth cravings along with saving those large batches of goodies which either gets distributed to neighbors or you end up eating most of it. Perfect for small households, or just whipping up something for the kids when they come home from school. This book delivers small yield recipes for all types of baking.

And now about the flan, this flan is creamy and caramely. Instead of using a full fat cream, this recipe uses half-an-half, i.e., a mixture of one part milk and one part cream. The banana puree adds richness and taste. The flavor is astonishingly intense and makes a sophisticated dessert. Debby says garnish the plate with slices of caramelized banana: cut one or two bananas into long diagonal slices and toss them with a bit of lemon juice. Arrange them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with light brown sugar, and broil or grill until the sugar melts; it will take about one minute.


Makes 2 flans ; Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 very ripe banana (i used a small one)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup half-and-half (mixture of one part milk to one part cream)
• 2 large eggs
• Yolk of 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Boiling water, for the baking dish

PANS REQUIRED:

• Two 1-cup souffle dishes or ramekins
• 1 baking pan

Method:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 deg F (160 deg C). Set aside a baking pan that will hold the souffle dishes. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium-size mixing bowl, and set aside.

2. Pour 1/3 cup of water into a small saucepan, add 1/2 cup of sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Then boil, without stirring, until the color turns golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the color is a medium golden amber, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and spoon 11/2 tablespoons of the caramel into each souffle dish. Reserve the remaining in the saucepan. Set the souffle dishes aside.

4. Peel the banana and slice it into the saucepan. Add the lemon juice and mash the banana, caramel and lemon juice together with a potato masher or a pastry blender. Add the half-and-half and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar. Place the pan over medium high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until the banana is cooked, 1 minute. Then remove the pan from the heat and strain the mixture through the sieve, pressing down hard on the banana to extract as much pulp as possible. Scrap off the pulp clinging to the bottom of the sieve and add it to the custard mixture in the bowl.

5. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla into the custard mixture, and pour the mixture evenly over the caramel in the souffle dishes, dividing it evenly between them. Place the souffle dishes in the baking pan and pour boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the souffle dishes. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake the flans until the centers are set, 25 to 30 minutes.

6. Remove the baking pan from the oven and carefully lift the souffle dishes from the pan with a metal spatula. Let the flans cool completely on a wire rack. Then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, 6 hours or overnight.

7. To serve, run a small sharp knife around the inside of the souffle dishes to loosen the flans. Cover a souffle dish with a dessert plate, and quickly invert the flans onto the plate. Pour the caramel mixture remaining in the souffle dish over the flan. Repeat with the second flan. Serve immediately.

Nutella Fudge Brownies

These small bites are just not enough to satisfy your sweet buds. You'll surely be asking for more and 12 minis will be just gone in minutes. These brownie bites are just made with using 4 ingredients and can be whipped in just 2 minutes. These brownies are fudgy in texture and not too sweet,  just perfect for me and the nuts on top get roasted as they bake and give a wonderful crunch. You'll need mini muffin cups or pan for the recipe. If you are in Bangalore, India you can get these mini muffin cups in General Food Additives.
Here goes the recipe...

Recipe Adapted from Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients (USA |India)


Makes 12 Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Nutella Spread 
• 1 Large Egg
• 5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped ( i have used walnuts, can use almonds too)

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.
4. Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Switch-Ins:

In place of the hazelnuts, switch in one of the following:
* ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon (add with the flour)
* peanuts, chopped, 1/4 cup

Sweet-Hot Spiced Pecans

Believe me, these sweet -hot spiced pecans are very addictive and vegan too. It is crunchy, sweet, spicy and a little salty. Altogether a wonderful crunchy snack. It can be served as a great evening snack with a sip of coffee or can even be wrapped and be sent as gifts. You can easily double the batch and make more if you wish. Trust me, no one can eat just one.


Recipe adapted from Myrecipes

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed or 1 large egg white
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups pecans

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, mix sugar, cayenne, salt, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, and ground allspice. Whisk together the ground flaxseed, water and oil (Alternately whisk 1 egg white and vegetable oil.

2. In a large bowl take 2 cups of pecan halves. Add in the flaxseed mixture and stir to coat the pecans. Now add the sugar and spices and mix well to coat well.

3. Spread nuts in a single layer in an oiled nonstick baking sheet or simply lay a parchment paper over a baking sheet. Bake in a 300°F OR 150°C regular or convection oven, stirring occasionally, until nuts are crisp and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Let cool about 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to loosen nuts from pan; cool completely. Serve or store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Ginger Spiced Brownies

This is one of the best homemade brownies i have ever had. Ginger with chocolate is a delicious taste sensation. Here good bittersweet chocolate flavored with pieces of candied ginger is used in a chocolate brownie mixture. Just a hint of spice, plus deliciously tangy soured cream, makes these brownies extra special. The texture of this brownie is dense, fudgy and moist. You just cant stop for one!! Now go-ahead and make them yourself..




Makes 20

Ingredients:

200 g, 7 oz. good milk chocolate
100 g, 7 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar, granulated or superfine
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons soured cream *can substitute with full fat yogurt
50 g bittersweet chocolate with candied ginger pieces, chopped (if you cant find them, just add 30 g of choc and 20 g of candied ginger ,separately chopped)

a brownie pan, 8 x 10 inches, greased and base lined

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Break up the 7 oz milk chocolate and put it in a heatproof mixing bowl with butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of steaming water and melt gently, stirring frequently. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and leave to cool until needed.

Put the eggs and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer or a hand mixer until very thick and mousse-like. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour and spices into the bowl and stir in. Mix in the soured cream followed by the chopped chocolate with ginger. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake in a preheat oven for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted halfway between the sides and the center comes out just clean. Remove the pan from the oven.

Leave to cool before carefully removing from the pan and cutting into pieces. Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days.

Maple, Pecan & White Chocolate Muffins

Maple syrup adds a lovely caramel flavor to these muffins. These muffins have a soft crumb and goes well with the crunchiness of the pecans and the feel of the soft sweet touch of white chocolate.



Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

300 g (10 oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
125 g (4 oz) soft brown sugar
1 egg
50 ml (2 fl oz ) maple syrup
250 ml (8 fl oz) milk
5o g (2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
125 g (14 oz) white chocolate, chopped or white chocolate chips
75 g (3 oz) pecan nuts, coarsely chopped

to decorate
chopped pecans
chopped white chocolate

Method:
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar.

Beat together the egg, syrup, milk and melted butter and beat into the dry ingredients until mixed. do not over mix.

Fold in the chocolate and pecan nuts.

Line 12 holes of a muffin tray with paper cases. Divide the mixture among the paper cases and top with some extra chopped nuts and chocolate.

Bake in a preheated oven 200 deg C(400 deg F), Gas Mark 6, for 20 - 25 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Lamingtons

Lamingtons are to Australians what the chocolate brownie is to Americans. These are basically cubes of sponge cake coated in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut to finish.




Makes 24 small cakes

Ingredients:

For cake:
125 g unsalted butter, softened
125 g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250 g self raising flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For icing:
200 g icing sugar
50 g cocoa powder
75 -100 ml boiling water
100 g desiccated coconut

Method:
Make the cake: Put all the cake ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Or if you are making the cake batter by hand, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and light. Then beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until incorporated. Sift in the flour and salt and fold into the creamed mixture with milk and vanilla.

Oil and base-line a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) cake tin and transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Smooth the surface with a palette knife and bake in a preheated oven, 190 degrees C (375 degrees F) for 25 -30 minutes until risen and firm to touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack to cool. Leave out overnight.

Make the icing: Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Male a well in the center and beat in the boiling water to make a smooth icing with a pouring consistency.

How to proceed: Cut the cooled cake into 24 squares. Use 2 forks or a big skewer to dip each cake into the icing and then immediately coat with the coconut. Leave to set on a baking paper.



Enjoy!!

Marble Bundt Cake

The cake - it is cake, so don't kid yourself - should be delight to eat. It is the ultimate coffee accompaniment, when made correctly it is the perfect yin - yang dessert. Unfortunately, many marble cakes lack any distinction between the chocolate and vanilla components; the chocolate flavor is no more interesting than brown food coloring. This recipe is a tribute to the classic marble bundt, with a rich chocolate flavor (thanks to the combination of dark chocolate and cocoa powder) that contrasts nicely with the delicate vanilla swirl. If you're going to eat cake for breakfast, it should be this one.

This is the best homemade marble cake i've ever had. I recommend the book "Baked - New Frontiers in Baking" to all my readers who love baking. Go for it!!

Yield : 1 (10 inch) BUNDT CAKE

Adapted from Baked - New Frontiers in Baking

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SWIRL

6 ounces, 170 grams dark chocolate (60 to 72 % cocoa), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder (like Valrhona)

FOR THE SOUR CREAM CAKE

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 ounces, 453 grams sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SWIRL : In the top of a double boiler over simmering Water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

MAKE THE SOUR CREAM CAKE : Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with a nonstick cooking spray or simply use a silicon bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and slat together into a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 30 seconds.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to combine the chocolate mixture and the batter to make a smooth chocolate batter. Spread half of the remaining batter in the prepared pan. Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the chocolate cake batter directly on top of the plain cake batter. The dollops will touch and mostly cover the plain batter, but some plain batter will peek through. Use a butter knife to swirl the chocolate and plain cake batter together. Pour the remaining plain batter on top of the chocolate layer and smooth it out. Once again, use the knife to pull through the layers to create a swirl.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a sharp knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake and invert it into the wire rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

STORAGE : The cake will keep for 3 days. tightly covered. at room temperature.

Daring Bakers Piece Montée

May 2010 Challenge

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

This month’s challenge recipe is for a Piece Montée, which means literally “mounted piece.” You may know this dessert by another name – Croquembouche (“crunch in the mouth”). Piece montée is the traditional wedding cake here in France. They are often served at baptisms and communions as well.
The classic piece montée is a high pyramid/cone made of profiteroles (cream-filled puff pastries) sometimes dipped in chocolate, bound with caramel, and usually decorated with threads of caramel, sugared almonds, chocolate, flowers, or ribbons.
Recipe Source: The recipes used for this month’s challenge comes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and were originally created by famed pastry chef, Nick Malgieri.

Note: This recipe has 3 main components: the pate a choux, the crème patissiere, and the glaze used to mount/decorate it. While you can purchase or make a cardboard conical structure to build your piece montée or use toothpicks as an aid, it is relatively easy to assemble it using just the baked pate a choux as the main building blocks and the glaze as the glue.

While a piece montée may be a bit time-consuming to assemble, the various components are relatively easy to make and don’t require any special ingredients. The best part about them is that once you have mastered them, you will be able to go on and make many beloved French French pastries such as éclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, etc. all of which are made with this pate a choux recipe, a filling and glaze.

Preparation time: You will want to use your puff pastry batter and chocolate glaze or caramel as soon as it has been prepared and as close to serving time as possible. This is not a dessert that stores well and it may be a bit temperamental in humid areas as the glaze needs to harden to hold the choux together. The crème patissiere can be made a couple of days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You will need approximately 10 minutes to prepare the puff pastry, 10 minutes to pipe and about 30 minutes to bake each batch. The crème patissiere should take about 10 minutes to cook and then will need to be cooled for at least 6 hours or overnight. The glazes take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Equipment required:
• several baking sheets
• parchment paper
• a whisk
• a pastry brush (for the egg wash)
• a pastry bag and tip (a plain tip or no tip is best for piping the puff pastry; you can use a plain or star tip to fill the puff pastry with the cream)
• a flat surface such as a baking sheet or cake board/stand on which to assemble your piece montée
• some of the items you may want to use to decorate your piece montée include ribbons, Jordan almonds, fresh flowers, sugar cookie cut-outs, chocolates, etc.

Vanilla Crème Patissiere


Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Preparation: Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.

Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)

¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny.

As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.

It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces/200 g. finely chopped chocolate (use the finest quality you can afford as the taste will be quite pronounced; I used semi-sweet)

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning. Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up.

When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate. Have fun and enjoy! Bon appétit!

Black Forest Brownies

First and foremost, i wish all my readers a very happy and a prosperous new year 2010!! Hope you all had a great time spending long holidays with family and friends with loads of good food.. I hope to bring you all good food and some good photography this year..
My first post this year are one of my favorites "Brownies".
I remember i had a good large black forest cake last year in Black forest. It was filled with cherries and cream.. It was simply delicious. The black forest brownies here use the same ingredients that are used in the famous "black forest cake" , except that they turn fudgy and gooey instead of cakey and creamy. Sour cherries, kirsch and chocolate are a known tested and tried combination. But for this recipe they all combine together to give a wonderful tasting brownie, which serves as a great dessert for all the brownie lovers out there. To make this brownie alcohol free, you can add the canned cherry syrup instead of kirsch. This brownie tastes extra special with some sweetened whipped cream. So do try this yummy treat!!


Recipe adapted from Brownies, einfach schokoladig. This is a great book with wonderful Brownie and Blondie recipes. Simple, yet delicious recipes.

I got this book on my hubby's birthday. I know, i should be presenting him with something on his birthday but in turn i got this book from him that day. I'm so lucky.. ain't i?? I recommend this book for people who are crazy about trying different kinds of brownies and blondies.. Till now, i've tried 4 recipes from that book and not one have disappointed me. All were a hit! Its the best book of brownies i've got. And yes, fyi, its a German book.


Recipe gives 12 big or 24 small brownies.

Ingredients:

225 g milk chocolate, chopped (Use dark chocolate, if you like more intense chocolate flavor)
125 g butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp cream
3 eggs, large
225 g fine sugar
2 tbsp kirsch or syrup from the canned cherries
160 g all purpose flour
100 g dark chocolate, chopped, or 100 g chocolate chips
465 g canned or glass sour cherries, (drained weight 175 g)[Can add more, as per your taste]

powdered sugar to sprinkle

1 Brownie form (20 x 25 cm) greased and lined with a baking paper


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Combine milk chocolate, butter and cream in a small bowl and melt using a double boiler (place the bowl over another bowl with a simmering water). See that the bowl with the chocolate doesn't touch the water. Once everything melts together, take it out and let cool.

Beat the eggs in another bowl using a wooden spoon or a hand mixer until combined. Add in the sugar and kirsch and beat together until the mixture thickens a little bit.
Add in the melted chocolate-butter mixture.

Add flour in small batches and combine with a wooden spoon. Add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Combine well.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and place the cherries on the batter evenly.

Bake the brownie in a preheated oven for 30 -35 minutes. Remove the pan and let cool.


Cut the brownie into 12 equal portions.

Serve the brownies with some powdered sugar sprinkled on it.


Storage: The brownie stays well in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Gingerbread House

Daring Bakers December Challenge 2009

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.






I choose Anna's recipe from Good housekeeping. I had never baked a gingerbread house before. I thank Anna and Y for giving us such a great challenge. It took three days for me to finish the gingerbread house. Decorating was the fun part in the entire challenge. Its been 10 days since i made the house and it still looks and smells great.

This is the template i used.






Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup(s), 450 g packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup(s), 360 ml heavy cream or whipping cream
1 1/4 cup(s), 425 g light (mild) molasses
9 1/2 cup(s), 1200 g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s), 30 g baking soda
1 tablespoon(s), 15 g ground ginger

Directions:

In very large bowl, with wire whisk, beat brown sugar, cream, and molasses until sugar lumps dissolve and mixture is smooth. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and ginger. With spoon, stir flour mixture into cream mixture in 3 additions until dough is too stiff to stir, then knead with hands until flour is incorporated and dough is smooth.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions; flatten each into a disk to speed chilling. Wrap each disk well with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until dough is firm enough to roll.

Grease and flour large cookie sheets (17-inch by 14-inch). Roll out dough, 1 disk at a time on each cookie sheet to about 3/16-inch thickness. (Placing 3/16-inch dowels or rulers on either side of dough to use as a guide will help roll dough to uniform thickness.)

Trim excess dough from cookie sheet; wrap and reserve in refrigerator. Chill rolled dough on cookie sheet in refrigerator or freezer at least 10 minutes or until firm enough to cut easily.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Use chilled rolled dough, floured poster board patterns, and sharp paring knife to cut all house pieces on cookie sheet, making sure to leave at least 1 1/4 inches between pieces because dough will expand slightly during baking. Wrap and reserve trimmings in refrigerator. Combine and use trimmings as necessary to complete house and other decorative pieces. Cut and bake large pieces and small pieces separately.

Brush house pieces lightly with water before baking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until pieces are firm to the touch. Do not overbake; pieces will be too crisp to trim to proper size.

Remove cookie sheet from oven. While house pieces are still warm, place poster-board patterns on top and use them as guides to trim shapes to match if necessary. Cool pieces completely on cookie sheets before removing.


Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar ( i used 1/4 tsp cream of tarter)
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Pistachio, Lemon and Honey Baklava

Baklava is a Turkish delight made from layers of filo pastry, nuts, sugar and spices, drizzled with syrup. The resulting sweetmeat is wonderfully sticky and sweet.


Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

175 g (6 oz) shelled pistachio nuts
125 g (4 oz) blanched almonds,
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice (1/8 teaspoon each of nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
12 Sheets Store bought filo pastry
125 g(4 oz) unsalted butter, melted

For the lemon and honey syrup,

grated rind and juice of 2 lemons (can reduce according to your taste)
250 g (8 oz) clear honey
150 ml(1/4 pint) water

Method:

Put the pistachio nuts, almonds and spices in a food processor and pulse briefly until the nuts are coarsely ground. Stir in the sugar.

Lightly oil a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) cake tin. Cut the sheets of filo pastry in half crossway's so that they are about the same size as the tin (OR if the sheets are small, just keep the tin over the sheets and keeping the correct measurement of the tin, trim off the extra sides using a sharp serrated knife. the extra pieces could be used in the recipe for layering.)

Brush 1 sheet with melted butter and press it into the tin. Continue to brush and layer the sheets until half remain(about 5 sheets). Scatter over half of the nut mixture and then top with another 2 sheets brushing each with melted butter. Then scatter the other half of the nut mixture and the remaining pastry, brushing each sheet with melted butter as you go. (The original recipe says 6 sheets for the base, topped with the entire nut mixture which is again topped with the remaining 6 sheets of filo pastry.) This was the one slight change in the recipe which i made. You can make anyways you like. The result wont be just the same.

Use a sharp knife(serrated would do good) to score a diamond pattern into the pastry, cutting down to the base. Drizzle over any remaining butter and bake in a preheated oven, 180 deg C (350 deg F), Gas Mark 4, for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160 deg C( 325 deg F), Gas Mark 3, and bake for further 20-25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.


Meanwhile make the syrup: Put the lemon rind, juice, honey and water in a saucepan and heat gently until boiling. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Pour the hot syrup over the baklava and leave to cool.





After it has cooled and has absorbed all the syrup, it'll look like this.



Enjoy the lovely dessert!

Daring Bakers: Cannoli filled with Ricotta and Mascarpone Cheese Cream

Daring Bakers November 2009 Challenge

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.


Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility. The cannoli is a fried, tube-shaped pastry shell (usually containing wine) filled with a creamy amalgamation of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate, candied fruit or zest, and sometimes nuts. Although not traditional, mascarpone cheese is also widely used, and in fact, makes for an even creamier filling when substituted for part of the ricotta, or by itself. However, cannoli can also be filled with pastry creams, mousses, whipped cream, ice cream etc. You could also add your choice of herbs, zests or spices to the dough, if desired. Marsala is the traditional wine used in cannoli dough, but any red or white wine will work fine, as it’s not only added for flavor or color, but to relax the gluten in the dough since it can be a stiff dough to work with.


Equipment:
Cannoli forms/tubes - optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli. Dried cannelloni pasta tubes work just as well!
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters - The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels

Required: If you don’t have or do not want to purchase cannoli forms, which I would never ask of any of you, you could simply cut out circles, squares, or any shapes you want and stack them with the filling of your choice to make stacked cannoli's aka Cannolipoleons (directions below). If desired, you can channel MacGuyver and fashion something heat proof to get traditional shaped cannoli (6-8 inch sawed off lengths of a wooden broom stick or cane, sanded down and oiled, is THE authentic cannoli form!), or non-traditional shapes such as creating a form to make bowls, or even using cream horns if you happen to have them. Mini cannoli would be great too, and I've provided links to retailers of cannoli forms of all sizes. I used Aluminum Foil BBQ Grill Trays for the cannoli forms. I cut them and rolled them using garlic presser and rolled them again with a sheet of parchment paper. I sealed the ends of the parchment paper using small cut outs of the grill sheet. This helps when you fry the pastry for the first time. Later the parchment paper sticks by itself and you wont need the sealing. This is a wonderful alternative for the steel cannoli forms. The fried pastry come sout easily without any problems.


Also, for those who don't like to cook or bake with alcohol - grape juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, apple juice..any sweet juice of a fruit, especially ones used in or to make wine, can be substituted. Just add a little more vinegar to insure you get enough acid to relax the dough

Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough.

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained (i used half ricotta and half mascarpone cheese)
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note - If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight. (I kept the dough covered with a plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 2 days and i had no problems with the pastry. It was easy to roll and had blisters on the surface.)

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.


5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 - 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.



TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Rolling the dough to paper thinness, using either a rolling pin or pasta machine, is very important. If the dough is not rolled thin enough, it will not blister, and good cannoli should have a blistered surface.

- Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

- Your basic set of round cutters usually doesn’t contain a 5-inch cutter. Try a plastic container top, bowl etc, or just roll each circle to 5 inches. There will always be something in your kitchen that’s round and 5-inches if you want large cannoli.

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F - 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- If using the cannoli forms, when you drop the dough on the form into the oil, they tend to sink to the bottom, resulting in one side darkening more. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lift and roll them while frying.

- DO NOT crowd the pan. Cannoli should be fried 2-4 at a time, depending on the width of your saucepan or deep fryer. Turn them once, and lift them out gently with a slotted spoon/wire skimmer and tongs. Just use a wire strainer or slotted spoon for flat cannoli shapes.

- When the cannoli turns light brown - uniform in color, watch it closely or remove it. If it’s already a deep brown when you remove it, you might end up with a really dark or slightly burnt shell.

- Depending on how much scrap you have left after cutting out all of your cannoli shapes, you can either fry them up and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a crispy treat, or let the scraps rest under plastic wrap and a towel, then re-roll and cut more cannoli shapes.

- Push forms out of cannoli very gently, being careful not to break the shells as they are very delicate. DO NOT let the cannoli cool on the form, or you may never get it off without it breaking. Try to take it off while still hot. Hold it with a cloth in the center, and push the form out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

- Practice makes perfect. My first batch of shells came out less than spectacular, and that’s an understatement. As you go along, you’ll see what will make them more aesthetically pleasing, and adjust accordingly when rolling. My next several batches turned out great. Don’t give up!!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

These whoopies pies are two soft, spiced cakey cookies with a fair amount of cream sandwiched between them. These cookies are so much full of flavor, the spices and the pumpkin flavor blend beautifully together. They taste great with the vanilla flavored cream cheese filling and these cookies are so good and moist, that they are delicious and can be had even without the cream cheese filling. One change i made with the recipe was that i reduced the recipe by half and made 6 sandwiched whoopie pies which was good enough for just 2 of us (me and my hubby) and i also reduced the quantity of confectioners' sugar in the filling. It was little too sweet for my taste bud. Altogether this is a great recipe for people with sweet tooth.


Recipe adapted from Baked, new frontiers in baking.

Yield : 12 WHOOPIE PIES

Ingredients for the pumpkin whoopie cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon cloves powder
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (i used light brown sugar)
1 cup vegetable oil (i used sunflower oil)
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cream cheese frosting:

3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) You can reduce the amount according to your taste
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop with release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough on to the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and the toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.

Make the cream cheese filling

Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment(you can even use medium sized bowl and a hand beater), beat the butter until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overeat the filling, or it will loose structure. (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before filling.)

Assemble the whoopie pies

Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up).

Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.


Storing:

The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Note:

Make sure you chill the pumpkin puree thoroughly before making this recipe. The chilled puree will make your whoopies easier to scoop and give them a domed top.

Schokoladen Sirup Muffins (Chocolate Syrup Muffins)

Schokoladen Sirup Muffins in German meaning Chocolate syrup Muffins ,adapted from "1 Teig = 100 Muffins" book. This book has a plenty of muffin recipes both sweet and savory. Its the german version of the book "1 Mix, 100 Muffins". Anybody wanting for a cake and have no buddies to share a big cake with, then go ahead and make these tiny muffins. It'll satisfy your wanting for a cake as well as serve just a few. You can even cut the recipe by half and make just 6 muffins.
I loved the texture these muffins had. They also have a strong cocoa flavor. You can make a simple sugar glaze to top these muffins with if your don't much like the strong flavor of cocoa or even a dusting of icing sugar would do. They taste great as it is as well. Enjoy these muffins just with a plain glass of milk. Yummy!!



Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

Ingredients:

225 gms all purpose flour (Appox. 1 1/2 cups + 1 1/2 tbsps)
50 gms Cocoa powder
3 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
150 gms light brown sugar
2 eggs (large)
200 gms sour cream
6 tbsps sunflower oil or 90 gms butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsps heller sirup ( can substitute golden syrup or honey)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir in the sugar and keep aside.

In a medium sized bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream, sunflower oil ( or melted butter) and syrup mixing well. Set aside.

Make a well inside the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Do not over mix this batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.

Divide the batter amongst the 12 muffin cups using two spoons or an ice cream scoop, About 3/4th of the muffin cup. (I transfered the batter into a zip lock cover. Made a 1/2 inch hole in the corner. This helped me a lot and ensured me a clean fill up.)

Place in the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a touch, the muffin bounces back. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Serve warm with little icing sugar or a simple glaze using powdered sugar, water and vanilla on top.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I had bookmarked this recipe from a very long time and finally i made it. These rolls turned out very moist and were full of flavor. The addition of pumpkin to the dough gave a lovely color and flavor. These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are just like the usual cinnamon rolls we make except that there is the addition of pureed pumpkin to the dough and instead of the usual cinnamon-sugar mixture sprinkled on the rolled, buttered dough, here we make a streusel using cinnamon, sugar, flour, and butter which is sprinkled on the rolled dough, rolled again into a log, cut into individual portions and then baked. The vanilla sugar glaze on top of the baked rolls gives a wonderful sweetness. Must say, i am fully satisfied with the results. It was a great tasting recipe!


Recipe adapted and slightly altered from myrecipes

Ingredients

For the buns:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Homemade Pumpkin Puree (recipe below)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (57 gm) butter, melted
1 tablespoon + a pinch granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cooking spray

For the filling:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

For the glaze:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

For the pumpkin puree:

You'll need 2 small pumpkins( i used Hokkaido)

Gives: 2 cups of pumpkin puree.

Cut the pumpkins into fourths. Remove and discard seeds and strings. Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until tender. Cool, peel and mash it with a potato masher or by just using your hands.

Keeps well in an air tight box, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days , and freeze up to 3 months.

To prepare the rolls:

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add flour, pumpkin, milk, melted butter, 1 tbsp sugar, salt and nutmeg; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) OR just use your hands to bring all the ingredients together and knead well to form a smooth dough.

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray or some neutral oil, turning to coat top. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

For the filling:

Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices in a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray(9 slices fits the pan, the left 3 slices can be baked in a muffin tray).


Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)

Bake the rolls at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.


To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns.






Serve warm.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

This is another delicious and wickedly indulgent treat that is best cut into fingers. I decided to bake this cake as soon as i saw this recipe in the book "Fresh Baked" with a lovely picture. This recipe is very quick with very easy to follow instructions and the result is in front of you. Its got a nice chocolate base topped with a lovely satiny cheesecake layer which is again decorated with a lacy melted chocolate. Any favorite chocolate biscuits can be used for the base. I used butter biscuits coated with dark chocolate which went very well with the cheesecake layer.





Use the exact sized baking pan for the recipe mentioned as this effects the thickness of the cheesecake. I also used a weighing machine to weigh the ingredients which gave me the perfect result.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice
from Fresh Baked

preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time 50-60 minutes
serves: 12-16

Ingredients:

250 gm (8 oz) Chocolate biscuits (any of your favorite)
100 gm (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
50 gm (2 oz) dark chocolate
500 gm (1 lb) cream cheese
150 ml (1/4 pint) sour cream
3 eggs (i used large)
125 gm (4 oz) caster sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Put the chocolate biscuits in a food processor and process until smooth, then stir into the melted butter until evenly combined. Lightly oil and line a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) cake tin with baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang the edges. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread flat. Chill while preparing the topping.

Put the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until it has melted. Keep warm. [If the chocolate turns too thick, add few teaspoons of sour cream to slightly liquidity it so that it would be easy to drizzle over the cheesecake layer. I filled this chocolate - sour cream mixture into a small zip lock cover. Made a small hole in the corner and this ended up with a very clean , hazel free drizzle.]

Put the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a clean bowl and, using an electric beaters, beat together until smooth. Pour into the tin and drizzle over the melted chocolate, using a skewer to create a swirling pattern over the creamed mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven 150 deg C (300 deg F), Gas Mark 2, FOR 50 - 60 minutes until the mixture is firm, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Chill for 1 hour, then carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and cut it into fingers.

Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee!