Tag: holiday baking

Baking| Hot Cross Strawberry Chocolate Chip Buns … Happy Easter

  “Happy Easter. May happy thoughts and springtime flowers brighten all your Easter hours.”
Author Unknown

Hot Cross Strawberry Chocolate Chip BunsSo what are you making for Easter Mr PAB asked, referring to the ever ‘hungry’ blog! Moi? I had no plans but he talked me into some. Having studied in convents all my life, I’ve been charmed by hot cross buns for long, long, but never baked a batch. Maybe this was the time! Soon enough,  the sweet aroma of Hot Cross Strawberry Chocolate Chip Buns wafted gently through the house!

A hot cross bun is a sweet, spiced bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top, traditionally eaten on Good Friday. In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion. Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if “Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be” is said at the time. Because of the cross on the buns, some say they should be kissed before being eaten.

My version is non traditional yet quite delicious! I bookmarked a few recipes including one in my Thermomix cookbook, but eventually went for an oft used basic recipe. It’s the one I adapted for Apple Cranberry Almond Olive Oil Pull-Apart Loaf & Popovers from The Pioneer Woman, a ‘light as air’ flavourful dough, one that can take a stuffing, and is quite a fun dough to play with!

Stuffing? Yes indeed! I had a small idea creeping into my head as I had strawberries calling to be roasted yet again. I wanted to try adding a small ‘heart‘ of that roasted goodness into my hot cross buns. I cooked the syrup to a thick reduction to ensure the filling stayed ‘stuffed’ in! Also, instead of traditional currants I opted for chocolate chips.

The recipe never fails. For the ‘cross’ on top I piped some thick stirred plain flour and water. The buns were delicious and disappeared pretty soon. The red heart of roasted balsamic strawberries was a nice surprise as you bit through the bread flooding your palette with flavour and balsamic sweetness. It paired well, as does the chocolate, with an otherwise not too sweet bread.Buttermilk keeps the dough light, and the vanilla bean adds gentle, beautiful flavour. If I had placed the buns apart on a large baking sheet I’d have managed individual hot cross buns, but since I used a smaller baking pan, they rose into each other and resulted in a pull apart bread. No regrets however!!I like this dough recipe, and keep simplifying it as I use it more and more. The basic dough is eggless, butter free and light. Yeast, soda and baking powder combine to make sure it rises well. Its versatile too as I’ve used it in Savoury Chili Cheese & Garlic Olive Oil Pull-Apart Bread some time ago. More recently it popped up on PAB as the base of Sweet Orange, Roasted Strawberry and Chocolate Buttermilk Rolls.It’s one those recipes you can keep returning to, experiment with and enjoy in different avatars. I might try using the dough for a slow overnight rise sometime soon. So many ideas to keep the hungry PAB and kids happy, but often the lack of time!

[print_this]Recipe: Hot Cross Strawberry Chocolate Chip Buns

Summary: Light and airy hot cross buns made with a yeasted {eggless] buttermilk dough flavoured with vanilla beans and chocolate chips. A sweet roasted balsamic strawberry reduction floods the palette as you bite through the otherwise not so sweet bun.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes plus resting time
Ingredients:

  • Buttermilk Dough
  • 240ml {1 cup} buttermilk, room temperature
  • 70gm {1/4 cup} granulated sugar
  • 60g {1/4 cup} extra light olive oil, or any neutral oil
  • 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
  • 270gm {2 1/4 cups} all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
  • Filling
  • 50gm {1/4 cup} unsalted butter, melted
  • 100gm dark chocolate, chopped {good quality}
  • 1 serving roasted balsamic strawberries {recipe follows}
  • Icing
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • Enough water to make it into a thick paste {approximately 1/4 cup or less}
  • Roasted Balsamic Strawberries
  • 225gm strawberries
  • 30gm  {2tbsp} brown sugar
  • 15ml {1tbsp} balsamic vinegar

Method:

  1. Buttermilk Dough
  2. In a large bowl or  your food processor,  place all the dry ingredients, followed by the oil and buttermilk. Knead to a soft pliable dough. It will be sticky. Cover and let it rise for at least an hour.
  3. {Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl. Mix at Speed 6 for 5 seconds. Knead at intermittent speed for 2 minutes. Leave dough in TH for an hour until it doubles. Cover TM if weather is cold.}
  4. Assembling:
  5. Roll the dough into a large rectangle. Spread 1/3rd of the butter over it, and sprinkle half the chocolate chips over. Fold over twice like you would do puff pastry and repeat again with 1/3rd butter and the remaining chocolate chips.
  6. Divide the dough into half, then into 6 equal portions each. You should have 12 portions. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll the dough into balls.
  7. Take a ball of dough, flatten on the palm of your hand, place a scant tsp of completely cooled roasted balsamic strawberries on it, and pull the edges over it to cover the filling. Gently roll back into a ball, ensuring that the filling is trapped in. Place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet/pan.
  8. Repeat with remaining balls of dough.
  9.  Allow to rise covered while you make the flour mix for the cross and preheat the oven to 220C.
  10. Mix the flour gradually with the water to get a thick paste. Place into a ziploc bag, snip off a corner and pipe crosses over the dough balls.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes on 220C, reduce the heat to 200C and continue to bake for a further 10-15 minutes until nice and golden. Paint with the remaining butter as soon as the buns come out of the oven.
  12. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  13. {Caution: Don’t be tempted to bite into a hot ‘hot cross bun’ as the filling might burn your mouth.}
  14. Roasted Balsamic Strawberries
  15. Toss the quartered strawberries well with the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Bake at 180C for about 45 minutes until nice and bubbly, stirring once or twice. Strain the strawberries and reserve in a bowl. Place the liquid in a pan and reduce over heat until nice and thick. We need a thick strawberry reduction for the stuffing! Cool completely, transfer to a clean glass jar and refrigerate until needed.

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Baking| Double Chocolate Dessert Popovers … on the fast track with Daring Bakers

“After eating chocolate you feel godlike, as though you can conquer enemies, lead armies, entice lovers.”
Emily Luchetti

Another month, another Daring Baker challenge; and panic attack as always. It was almost halfway through the month, and procrastination is not my ball game anymore. A hack attack on my blog set me back many days, and I was gasping for air. The Daring Kitchen offered huge respite by way of the theme … Quick Breads. Was music to my ears … and resulted in food for the soul – Double Chocolate Dessert Popovers.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

My inspiration once again stemmed from Renata @ Testado, Provado & Aprovado! at the forum. She posted the yummiest and airiest looking popovers which she made in ceramic pots. I had to make them, but by the time I got to the kitchen, the terrible teen suffered chocolate cravings big time. Studying for her grade 10 state exams has left her hungry 24 X 7 with cravings galore. {They begin today, the 27th}.The diet never leaves her though and I am thrilled to see her choose a banana over French toast on some days, a fenugreek flatbread {methi ka paratha} with a yogurt dip is suddenly popular. Broccoli is being ferociously chomped, all thanks to the net which offers better weight loss solutions than the hapless mother!It works for me, so doubling the chocolate was offered most happily. “Food“, she boomed… “I’m hungers again“! I loved the idea of quick breads, the forum on the Daring Kitchen speedily inspiring this time. So much creativity and energy there this month, I was infected! Googling got me to David Lebovitz, and these were in the oven as soon as it was preheated! DELICIOUS, gooey and ever-so-chocolaty!

♥♥♥Rules of the challenge♥♥♥
No yeast
Can’t take more than 1.5 hours to prepare and bake through.
Only loaves or muffins/popovers

I did manage another quick round of baking yesterday, these Quick Apple Walnut Cinnamon Buns. Barely managed to down load a few pictures. Will share the recipe soon, so do stay tuned. They were delicious too … and QUICK!

Thank you Lisa for a real fun and ‘breathless’ challenge. Thank you and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by here to see the other speedy bakers at work!! They are talented as they are quick!

[print_this]Recipe: Double Chocolate Dessert Popovers

Summary: Adapted from David Lebovtiz. DELICIOUS, gooey and ever-so-chocolaty, these quick popovers are ready in the blink of an eye, well almost! Pop them in as you sit for dinner, and indulge in ‘dessert popovers‘!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp butter, melted, plus 1 tsp for greasing tins
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup low fat cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour {slightly heaped}
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Liberally grease 5-6 popover tins, or a 6 muffin tray with softened butter.
  2. Place 1 tbsp melted butter, eggs, cream, salt and sugar in a bowl, and blend for a few seconds
  3.  Add the flour and cocoa and blend again for about 10 seconds, just until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Divide the batter among the greased molds, filling each 1/2 to 2/3rds full.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the popovers are puffy and have small cracks.
  6. Remove from the oven, wait a few minutes until cool enough to handle, then remove the popovers from the pans and set them on a cooling rack. If they’re stubborn, you may need a small knife or spatula to help pry them out.
  7. Serve warm with a drizzle of single cream and fresh fruit… or just as is!

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Baking| Sweet & Savoury Scones: Pistachio & Cranberry; Cheddar & Garlic Greens… back to the basics with the DBs

“Simple is good.”
Jim Henson

Bless this man Audax. Was I thrilled to see a simple yet classic challenge to begin the year with. The holiday season being such a busy one, I was relieved to see scones, something that is quintessentially a tea table beloved, and a great snack anytime, dessert too. I managed 2 batches – Sweet & Savoury: Pistachio & Cranberry Scones; Cheddar & Garlic Greens Scones.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

What I didn’t envisage was the time and effort this good Daring Baker put into researching and experimenting with scones. Hats off to Audax from Audax Artifex!He offered so many versions, milk, buttermilk, cream , so much insight into making the perfect scone, getting into the crumb of things, things that make a scone what it is…and things that could lead to its failure!You got to love a challenge which challenges you to think of the chemistry behind the baking. MUST make sure the baking powder is ‘active, alive up-to-date’ else you can kiss ‘light as feather‘ scones goodbye! Use a dash of baking soda if you choose to go the buttermilk route … handy tips!I was so happy to use buttermilk though I failed to read the number of scones to be stamped out, and went with a dozen so mine didn’t rise sky high. There were a dozen but they were great. M U S T have them warm {or reheated} to know how sublime goof food can be!My word, the cheese and garlic scapes scones were to die for. I added some sea salt both within and sprinkled on top … and the son was soon begging for more. Split with a spoonful of a garlic chives dip …nirvana! It was time to go a step further … sweet scones this time!The Thermomix makes these babies so FAST, so I was whipping up batch number two soon. Would make 8 this time I thought! I planned on orange vanilla scones that I would split and serve with strawberries and clotted cream, but a power cut 5 minutes into batch number 2 laid my plans to rest. Sigh … an hour later, power was back but the scones had been sent back to Stone Age!!I was back to making another batch before I knew it; this recipe is so good and simple if you follow the basics! This time I did Pistachio and Dried Cranberry Scones, a good use for some ground pistachios and dried cranberries I had left over from a previous baking misadventure.These came out beautifully too, the tops ‘dressed up‘ with flowers and leaves from dough trimmings. I had fun making these as well. Some were devoured with butter, and some with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, both divine! I didn’t get pictures of the latter, but they were GOOD!

Thank you Audax for a great daring challenge; it was delicious in every way and very satsifying. Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by here to see the scones our other daring bakers have stamped out!


[print_this]Recipe: Savoury Scones: Cheddar & Garlic Greens

Summary: Light as feather scones two way … sweet and savoury. Both good and great options for tea. {eggless/vegetarian}. The recipe is infinitely adaptable to individual tastes too.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Serving: About eight 2-inch scones or five 3-inch scones

  • 1 cup/140 gm plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4-5 garlic scapes with greens, chopped fine
  • 90gm cheddar, grated, chilled
  • 3 tbsp/40gm frozen grated butter
  • ½ cup /120 ml cold buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones
  • Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt for sprinkling

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to very hot 240°C.
  2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
  3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones. Add the cheddar and garlic and mix through with a fork.
  4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
  6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
  7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
  8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
  9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.
  10. Note: For the Pistachio & Cranberry Scones, substitute the sea salt with 1 tbsp vanilla sugar, and add 1/4 cup of coarsely ground pistachios and dried cranberries, Don’t add the garlic, cheddar or toppings. The method is the same.

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Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons … Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & Basil

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”
Benjamin Franklin

Some days I just dazzle myself with my efficiency, days that are few and far between, but it gives me confidence that I can still achieve quite a bit on better days!! It was a cake for my SILs birthday, AND macarons, all done on fast track. Inspiration came from our MacTweets theme for January and the Bavarian mousse on this Chocolate Bavarian Mousse Cake; that is how this Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons came about to be.On a day like this I raced and baked a sponge, made a Bavarian cream, then a mousse, layered a cake and even had it chilling in a couple of hours!! Even more dazzling … got the macs piped even as the kids grumbled getting out of bed and into the shower; ffound ‘feet’ before 8am, just after I had banished the kids to school!! Cake demoulded, ganached and snazzed up with my macs and I was a happy baker! The ganache wasn’t in my plan, limited as it seemed because of the time crunch, but the daughter begged for chocolate to be included in the master plan. I think the cake would have looked beautiful without the dark chocolate hues, but teens need to be kept happy, so…The macarons ran with the basic colours of fruit in the cake, pink for strawberries and green for kiwi. I was lucky to find feet so early in the morning. For the boost of mac-confidence I have to applaud the uber talented Stella @ BraveTart…and she is brave. She bakes mean {read GORGOEUS!!}  macarons, and did away with many mac myths in a second.Reading her post made me feel ultra confident, and a day old egg white out of the fridge did yield the frills or feet! I also dumped the granulated sugar in with the whites and whipped them altogether, but this time wasn’t nervous. Bravery is a strong emotion, and I was rewarded in under 10 minutes …pretty little mini macs.The sponge is a basic one, a 3 egg recipe that lives in my head… 3 eggs + 1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup flour. Minimal ingredients {with the seed of 1/2 a vanilla bean} and minimal fuss that results in a light airy sponge. This is my to-go recipe for a Swiss roll too!I did try to rustle up some shimmer and glimmer to jazz the macarons to meet the razzle dazzle theme, but the shimmer is rather muted! Well the thoughts {and my morning} dazzled in any case. The macarons were sandwiched with some dark chocolate ganache reserved from the frosting.Bavarian is fast becoming my choice of filling in cakes, one that finds its roots in a crème anglaise of sorts, as we still moan the lack of local whipping cream in India. The mousse compliments fresh fruit beautifully, and is delicately flavoured with vanilla bean. It was a little less firm in the filling as I used kiwi too {I think the high citric content in kiwi interferes with the setting of gelatin}. It did set though, but just. Next time I might stick to just strawberries to get a firmer mousse … like the one below!The weather that whole day {week actually} was cold and rainy, hence the cake pictures aren’t bright and happy. I had some mousse left over as the cake was taller than my desert ring, so I set some in glasses. I absolutely love the idea of doing individual portions like these that can be made ahead, and dressed up with seasonal fruit, as in this case strawberries perked up with some fresh basil!These were GOOD, oh so good! The Bavarian set perfectly, the little vanilla bean specks flavouring it beautifully. I topped the goblets with a strawberry puree, like the one layered in these White & Dark Chocolate Desserts with Strawberries. To add colour and flavour, I snipped in some fresh basil which I am fortunate to have these days. I left these in the fridge for a couple of hours again, and the strawberry, lime and basil flavours matured nicely!The play of textures and the visual appeal was great! Dolled up with a macaron and I have never heard the fridge door opening SO MANY times! The kids were constantly in and out of the kitchen to look at it longingly. The minute dinner was done, it was a race to the fridge again. Door opened again! “Now?”

Do you want to join us making MACARONS?


If you do, you are most welcome to join us  for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally do the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!

[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons

Summary:A marriage of flavours and textures, 2 desserts, one basic mousse. Add in some fresh seasonal fruit, top with macarons and you have … Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons, & Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & Basil

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes {plus setting/chilling time}
Ingredients:

  • Vanilla Sponge
  • 6 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar {I used granulated}
  • 1 cup plain flour, sifted
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped {or pure vanilla extract}
  • Basic Sugar Syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
  • 4 egg yolks {large; 5 if small}
  • 300ml whole milk
  • 200ml low fat cream, room temperature
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • 75gm sugar
  • 1 1/4 tbsp gelatin {increase in warm weather}
  • 200ml cream, chilled
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • Chocolate Ganache
  • 200gm dark chocolate bits {or chopped}
  • 200ml low fat cream
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Fruit for filling
  • 300gm strawberries, chopped {reserve 3-4 for garnishing
  • 2-3 kiwi, peeled, chopped {reserve 1/2 for garnishing}
  • Vanilla Macarons
  • 1 egg white, aged a day
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1/4 tsp egg white powder
  • 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
  • 300gm strawberries, chopped fine
  • 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar {increase/decrease as per tartness of strawberries}
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
  • 1tbsp water

Method:

  1. Vanilla Sponge
  2. Preheat oven to 190C. Line the base and sides of a 9″ round tin with baking parchment.
  3. Beat eggs, vanilla bean and sugar over simmering water until the eggs are thick and mousse like, about 7-10 minutes. Once they triple in volume, remove from water, and continue to beat until the mixture cools dwon {about 5 minutes}
  4. Fold the flour in carefully, in figure 8 moves, to ensure you don’t release the air.
  5. Turn into prepared tin, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is light golden and springs back when touched.
  6. Remove from tin, take off parchment, and coole completely on rack.
  7. Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
  8. Bloom gelatin in 2-3 tbsp of water. Place in a bowl of hot water to dissolve fully.
  9. Whisk the yolks with the sugar in a bowl.
  10. Heat cream, milk and half the sugar {15gm} until simmering. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar with a balloon whisk, and add 1/3rd of the hot milk mixture over it, whisking continuously until well combined. Pour this back into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cream is thickened and coats the back of the spoon. {Don’t allow it to boil}. It is important to constantly stir to prevent the bottom from curdling or burning. If that happens, take a balloon whisk and whisk vigorously. If you fear your custard curdled too much, remove from the heat and pass it through a fine sieve before proceeding with the recipe.
  11. Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl, and cook at 90C, Speed 3 for 7 minutes.
  12. Remove from heat immediately and stir the gelatin well into this hot mixture well, then quickly strain this into a bowl. Cool over a bowl of crushed ice, stirring frequently.  
  13. Once cool, beat the remaining 200ml chilled cream to soft peaks, and gently stir into the mousse.
  14. Chocolate Ganache
  15. Chocolate Glaze
  16. Place chocolate in a bowl.
  17. Heat the cream and honey in a pan until simmering. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup ganache in a piping bag for macarons.
  18. Assembling Torte
  19. Cut the sponge horizontally into 3 layers. Place in dessert ring on serving platter. {Dessert ring should fit nice and snugly. I use this adjustable dessert ring I bought in Sydney.} Place one layer of cake, top with the strawberries and kiwi, then half the Bavarian mousse. Repeat with the next layer. Cover and chill overnight for the Bavarian to set.
  20. Unmold from the dessert ring, frost with the ganache and garnish as desired. Chill until ready to serve.
  21. Vanilla Macarons
  22. Preheat oven to 140C.
  23. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  24. Blend the powdered sugar, almond meal, vanilla powder and egg white powder briefly in the bowl of your food processor to mix. {you can sift it too}
  25. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg white and the granulated vanilla sugar till it becomes firm and holds peaks, about 2 minutes.
  26. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg white with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and falls in ribbons like molten lave, stop folding. {Do not overmix}
  27. Using a teaspoon, or piping bag, drop / pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
  28. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest for about about 15 minutes {to an hour}.
  29. Bake them for about 15 minutes until the shells feel firm to touch.
  30. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
  31. To assemble macarons
  32. Match equal halves of macarons, and keep together.
  33. Pipe a tiny bit of the reserved ganache from above on the flat side of the macaron and sandwich with another half of the same size, squeezing gently. Leave to set.
  34. Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
  35. Lightly crush the chopped strawberries with the powdered sugar with a fork until the strawberries release their juices. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and reserve in a bowl in the fridge. Distribute over the glasses once Bavarian is set, and chill until served.

Notes: I bake my macarons on the upper shelf in my oven, using just the lower element for heat. I also use double baking trays.

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Baking| Anzac Biscuits … the perfect bite! ‘#comfortfood {eggless}

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
German Proverb

Nom Nom Nom … these Anzac Biscuits  have to be the best cookies I’ve made in a while, a hurried first nibble when they were yet warm, and it was love at first bite. I didn’t care if the kids rejected them; I knew I could devour the whole jar full! They were SO GOOD! He woke up with a smile, trying to charm my angry face. It was past 10am and I wasn’t a happy mother. “Cookieeeeeeee …. Yum! Nice. Can I have another?” She came home early after her exam. ‘Mother, I’m hungers’ she screamed in teen talk. “Me want cookie! Oooooh nice. More? Are these fatty? Another please? Just one more?” That’s the way this cookie crumbled! Day one and the jar half full {or half empty as I saw it!}. I did bake another batch the next day!It was back to the basics for me, baking from memory {the eggless chocolate orange tart above} and  turning pages of cookbooks on the shelf. I suddenly wanted to make ‘ciabatta’ on priority since the net was down {cables been cut in error they say} only to frustratingly remember that the recipe was online; only an offline link remained on my silly desktop!It’s a bit unnerving to see how much one gets attached to the net! I worked in frustration that morning – did laundry, cleaned the kitchen chimney, brushed the pooch, made rough puff pastry {froze it}, made mushroom potato soup, made sweet butter, a base for a tart, then filled it with delicious chocolate filling. … and then these Anzac Biscuits!

An Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda and boiling water. Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.

You can read more about their origin and history here.  A point of interest is the lack of eggs to bind the ANZAC biscuit mixture together. Because of the war, many of the poultry farmers had joined the services, thus, eggs were scarce. The binding agent for the biscuits was golden syrup or treacle.

Its been an exasperating beginning to the year to say the least. While power cuts were something we’ve learnt to live with for long, internet connectivity was taken for granted, a right for a privatized service. No such luck however! Shoddy ISP with rotten customer service makes my blood boil, the past few days on simmer!These bites made me feel better instantly; the cookies are the best I’d tasted in a while. I remember biting into crisp, thin, delicious honey oat cookies at the coffee workshop a few months ago, mesmerised by the taste. Came home and googled forever but never found a recipe that promised to please. Then that morning, no net, no links and I made a rough puff pastry & mushroom potato soup in the Thermomix. Leafing through the pages of the TM cookbook I found Anzac Biscuits. Now I’ve been meaning to make Anzacs for ages, and the minute I saw golden syrup I decided to give the recipe a go. I’ve had a bottle of syrup in my larder for over a year. Yes, looked like a cookie I would enjoy; was happy to note ‘no eggs’ . Minor changes … knocked off the coconut as the teen can’t stand coconut it and substituted it for chopped walnuts to make the cookie a little more wholesome.

There’s something so charming about the taste, something quite addictive. The cookies are crisp on the outside yet offer this slightly chewy comforting centre within. Also, they have a butterscotchy flavor that I really like, a honeyish hue possibly due to the syrup and butter being melted together. I love the depth the walnuts add to them, though I think coconut would be wonderful too.I reduced the sugar slightly from the original recipe, and baked them slightly thicker and thus longer. Maybe next time a little whole wheat flour substitution might happen, but all in all these were the perfect bite. Made me forget that silly internet, the lack of connectivity. Just proves that food comforts … and how!

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Recipe: Anzac Biscuits

Summary: Sweet, chewy inside, crisp on the outside, delicious and  wholesome bisuits. Cookies that are simple to make and very addictive. They have a long shelf life but disappear too fast to prove it!

Prep Time: 7-10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 120gm unsalted butter
  • 100ml golden syrup {I used Solar}
  • 1tsp baking soda
  • 65gm sugar
  • 65gm brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 150gm plain flour, sifted
  • 100gm rolled oats
  • 50gm walnuts, chopped fine

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 170C
  2. Heat butter and golden syrup in a pan over low heat till the butter melts and the two mix together. {Can do it in the microwave too}
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The dough will be a little stiff.
  4. Drop tbsp of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, flatten with the tines of a fork. {I rolled the dough into balls, flattened them slightly with the palm of my hand, and then further flattened them by pressing down with a fork.}.
  5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
  6. Leave to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes {they are quite tender when they come out of the oven} , and then transfer on racks to cool completely.
  7. Thermomix Recipe:
  8. Place butter & golden syrup into TM bowl. Heat for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2 until fully dissolved. Place bicarb into bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 3.
  9. Add remaining ingredients and set dial to closed position and mix for 30-35 seconds on interval speed…. then continue as above from step 4.

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Baking | Giveaway| Book Review … Fred Harveys French Apple Pie with Nutmeg Sauce … & a Shabby Apron Giveaway!

“Baked apples are at the core of modern thinking.”
Naomi Kobuko

A rather unsettling beginning of 2012 with the internet playing truant for a plethora of reasons, blame nature for a lightning strike, or man for cutting the underground cables … whatever, but it left PAB very hungry. I’m back to fill the hollow feeling with a chic Shabby Apple Apron Giveaway, and a recipe for Fred Harveys French Apple Pie with Nutmeg Sauce. The apron and the pie both very charming with a promise of retro charm. The pie from a cookbook {Appetite For America} that goes even further, a trail that chronicles ‘meaty‘ chunks of American culinary history from the roaring twenties!!

First the giveaway. The Shabby Apple folk wrote in to say … “We appreciate the quality of your website and its air of culinary chic, and we’d love to offer your fashionable readers a Shabby Apple Giveaway! Shabby Apple’s “Boysenberry Pie” Collection of aprons features designer fabric in cheery prints and charming styles, blended together for a vintage-inspired look that’s altogether sweet. Each apron comes complete with a recipe for its namesake dessert.”  … Whats not to love about these???

Shabby Apple, an online boutique of women’s dresses, casual dresses, skirts, and women’s apparel that caters to a need to make women feel feminine and beautiful. They offer flirty, stylish dresses a woman can wear just as comfortably in the office, at a family dinner, or on a date. Shabby Apple is a fashion company for women, by women, and of women. I’m giving away one apron from their Boysenberry Pie Collection to one lucky winner.

HOW TO ENTER: To win a Shabby Apple apron {value for $32-$40}, you must leave a comment before 22nd January, 2012, telling me you …

To continue the nostalgia of the old world charm, I’m going to tempt you into making a simple and delicious French Apple Pie, pulled out from the pages of history. Serve it with a simple Nutmeg Sauce and it sends you back many years. This classic eating house comfort food dish was tarted up by the head Fred Harvey baker at the Los Angeles Union Station way back in the 1920’s!!The recipe comes from an entirely devourable book “APPETITE FOR AMERICA: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire that Civilized the Wild West“, penned by Stephen Fried who says, “Over the years, Fred Harvey has become something of an obsession, because it seems that the more I learn about him, his family, his business, and his world, the more I understand about my homeland, and how it came to be.” So who exactly was Fred Harvey?

An Englishman who came to America in the 1850s, he built a family and a career and then, in his early forties, started a revolutionary business feeding train passengers in the Wild West along the Santa Fe railroad. He became something much better understood today: the founding father of the American service industry. Fred Harvey ran all the restaurants and hotels along the country’s largest railroad, the Santa Fe between Chicago and Los Angeles.

This curious Englishman turned out to be more than just a brilliantly successful manager of hotels and restaurants and a true Horatio Alger story come to life (during the time when Alger actually was writing those stories). He created the first national chain of restaurants, of hotels, of newsstands, and of bookstores— in fact, the first national chain of anything— in America.

The restaurants and hotels run by this transplanted Londoner and his son did more than just revolutionize American dining and service. They became a driving force in helping the United States shed its envy of European society and begin to appreciate and even romanticize its own culture.

I often find the son completely immersed in the history channel America, the Story of the US on TV … taking in the history of America, from the American Indians, the Henry Ford car model, the railroad, oil, civil war, Confederate army, Abraham Lincoln, the Vietnam War … an extraordinary series indeed of how America was invented.While he devours history taught this way, I devour this book which deliciously crosses paths with the TV channel, as Fred’s grandson Freddy was an original partner in TWA with Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford. ‘Appetite For America’ takes you back many nostalgic years, where times were simple. Hospitality was a different ball game, and culinary trails and entrepreneurship developed in a remarkable way. Unlike the chains of today, the Fred Harvey system was known for dramatically raising standards wherever it arrived, rather than eroding them. It turns out that being a fast- food nation was originally a good thing!Fred Harveys success story and his methods are still studied in graduate schools of hotel, restaurant, and personnel management, advertising, and marketing. “More than any single organization, the Fred Harvey System introduced America to Americans,” wrote a historian in the 1950s. As Prof Fried says, “whether we know it or not, we still live in Fred Harvey’s America”.

Stephen Fried is an award-winning investigative journalist and essayist, and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism.
Links {with recipes} you might enjoy: Fred Harvey Cooks, Fred Harvey Cookbook Project

[print_this]Recipe: French Apple Pie with Nutmeg Sauce

Comfort food redefined. Takes you back to the good old days … a simple, comforting apple pie served with an even simpler nutmeg sauce. This classic eating house comfort food dish was tarted up by the head Fred Harvey baker at the Los Angeles Union Station way back in the 1920’s!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients & Method:

  1. Recipe the Fred Harvey way!
  2. {I made half portion. The pastry recipe I used is from here}
  3. French Apple Pie:
  4. Pare and slice eight cups tart apples and place in the saucepan with one-half cup water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about five minutes.
  5. Add one-half cup sugar, mixing gently to avoid damaging the apples. Using slotted spoon, arrange apples in pie tin lined with pastry.
  6. In a small bowl, stir to mix one cup graham cracker crumbs, one half cup flour, and one-half cup sugar. Add one-third cup butter and a few drops of vanilla and stir thoroughly with a fork until mixture has a coarse, crumbly texture.
  7. Sprinkle the graham cracker topping evenly over apples.
  8. Place in oven pre-heated to four-hundred-fifty degrees and bake for thirty minutes, or until pastry turns light brown.
  9. Nutmeg Sauce:
  10. In a small saucepan, beat one egg yolk, one-half cup sugar and one-cup milk together well. Heat to just boiling and remove from heat immediately.
  11. Add one teaspoon nutmeg and stir thoroughly. {I added 1/2 a scraped vanilla bean too}

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