Simple For Recipe: June 2019

Wednesday 26 June 2019

Saffron Orange Tea Buns with Blackberry Craquelin

The sweet, crisp cracked topping you see on those dinner buns is called craquelin. With just butter, coconut sugar, flour and blackberry powder, this simple dough gives a really great crunchy texture to the buns. You can add different flavourings or colours to the craquelin to create various baked goods.

Blackberry Craquelin	Dough
50 g Butter at room temperature 20 g Coconut sugar 30 g White sugar 50 g Refined spelt flour 5 g Blackberry powder	300 g Plain flour 6 g Dry active yeast 6 g Salt 30 g Sugar 9 g Saffron orange tea (3 tea bags) 60 g Egg 65 ml Warm milk 80 g Water Roux starter (tangzhong) 50 g Butter, softened

Cream the butter, coconut sugar and white sugar together. Beat in the flour and blackberry powder and beat until the dough to become crumbly. Knead the craquelin and roll it between two pieces of parchment paper until 2mm thick. Chill at least 4 hours or until ready to use.
Place all the dough ingredients, except butter, in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Mix with a dough hook at slow speed for 1 minute. Increase the speed to the medium, and continue mixing for 3 minutes until dough is formed. Add butter gradually and knead for about 5 minutes on medium speed until gluten is fully developed, i. e. elastic, smooth, non-sticky and leaves from sides of the mixing bowl.
Turn out the dough and shape into a ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl. Return the dough ball into the greased mixing bowl. Cover it with a plastic film or a kitchen towel. Leave it in a warm place until dough is double in volume.
Punch the dough down to release the air produced in the proofing process. Divide dough into 6 even portions and round up. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes at the room temperature. Gently press it down to release the air and shape into a round. Place it on a parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat with the rest of dough balls.
Cover the buns with a plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes until almost double in volume. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
Take craquelin out from the fridge and using a round cookie cutter about the same diameter of the buns, cut out circles of the dough and set them on top of the buns. Bake the buns for 25-28 minutes until the tops browned and cracked.

Labels: bread, Tangzhong Starter

Monday 17 June 2019

Glace au Chocolat

Glace' au Chocolat

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 223.

Summer is here and what better way to celebrate it than with ice cream. Actually, any time is good for me when it comes to ice cream. I love it and remembered reading in one of Maida's books that it was her favorite dessert as well.

This is a French ice cream which means that it is made with eggs. It is easy to make and does not require an ice cream freezer. There were several times during the making of this that I thought I had done something wrong but it turned out well. For one thing, she says that after bringing the mixture to a boil, it will become very thick. I didn't notice a thickness at all - in fact, mine was very thin, almost watery. I thought I had perhaps added too much water but after double-checking the recipe, it was correct. You will need to freeze the ice cream for at least 3 or 4 hours before it firms up but after it does, it is very hard and kind of difficult to remove from the pan.

This is very rich and just a small portion will satisfy any serious chocolate lover. The type of chocolate you use is variable. I used semi-sweet just as it is listed in the recipe.

6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar

I used semi-sweet chocolate, chopping it in very small pieces.

Beat the heavy cream until it holds a shape. I find the whisk attachment is the best for whipping cream. I always chill the bowl and the whisk - it only takes a few minutes.

The egg yolks should be beaten for several minutes until they turn a soft yellow color.

The sugar and water is boiled for 3 minutes without stirring and then the chocolate is added to the mixture. This is where she says that it turns thick. It didn't thicken for me - it was very thin.

The chocolate mixture is added to the egg yolks gradually and then the whipped cream is added in small increments by folding it in.

Doesn't it look great?

She recommends freezing it in a loaf pan or ice-cube tray (I thought this was odd at first, then realized she was referring to the old-fashioned types that had the perforated inserts laid in them). Cover it with foil and freeze. I kept testing it and it does not begin to harden until at least 3 hours, more like 4 hours. The next morning is was rock hard and I even had difficulties removing it with a scoop. It is best to let it sit for a while and soften a bit, otherwise it tends to flake off in slivers when you are trying to scoop it out. This is very rich and decadent!

Yum

Labels: frozen desserts

Turmeric Carrot Honey Muffins with Brazil Nuts

These anti-inflammatory turmeric spelt muffins with carrots are really tasty, healthy and have no refined sugar. They're made with Brazilian nuts, coconut oil, honey and wonderful spices like turmeric and ginger. The reason those muffins are reddish is because the turmeric interacts with the alkaline baking soda to naturally turn these muffins red.


200 g Refined spelt flour 50 g Whole spelt flour 50 g Brazil nuts, ground into meal 1/2 tsp Baking soda 2 tsp Baking powder 1/3 tsp Black salt or sea salt 1/2 tsp Ginger powder 1 tbsp Turmeric powder A large pinch of black pepper powder 50 g Coconut sugar 200 g Grated carrots (about 2 cups)	100 g Honey, creamy or clear 2 Eggs, lightly beaten 240 ml Buttermilk 85 ml Coconut oil, melted 18 Brazil nuts

Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Grease a 6-hole jumbo muffin pan with coconut oil or line a 12-hole, standard-size muffin pan with paper cases.
Sift flours, ground Brazil nuts, baking soda, baking powder, black salt, ginger and turmeric powder into a bowl. Stir in coconut sugar and grated carrot.
Whisk honey, eggs, buttermilk and melted coconut oil together in a jug. Add honey mixture to flour. Mix until just combined. Do not over-mix or the muffins won't be tender.
Divide the batter among the muffin holes. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of muffin comes out clean. Brush the top with a bit of honey while still warm if you desired. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Labels: muffins, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Monday 10 June 2019

Crisp Pork Belly

This roasted pork belly, inspired by this recipe, is so crisp and delicious, with just sea salt and cumin seeds. The long, slow roasting makes sure the meat is tender and juicy. And near the end of of roasting, the oven temperature is increased for the golden crispy skin.

2 tbsp Beef dripping, melted and cooled
1.2 kg Pork belly with skin
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
1/2 tsp Whole cumin seeds

Allow the pork belly to sit in the fridge, uncovered, for about 4 hours before you plan to cook it. This will allow the skin to dry out and result it a crispier crackling.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. With a sharp knife, score the pork belly skin at 1cm intervals. Cut through the skin and fat but not into the meat.
Rub the pork all over with sea salt and cumin seeds. Drizzle with beef dripping and rub that in. Place the pork on a rack in a baking pan, skin side up.
Roast for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Increase the heat to 220C/425F and roast for about 30 minutes until skin is crisp. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Labels: Keto, pork

Sunday 2 June 2019

Grape Seed Flour Banana Bread

Grape seed flour is obtained from winery by-products (skins, seeds and stems) generated during wine-making. In addition to antioxidants, grape seed flour is a good source of magnesium, calcium, iron, healthy fats, protein and fibre.
There are several different types of grape seed flour each with a slightly different flavour and colour depending on the grape varietal they were derived from, i.e. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot etc. It is gluten-free and very versatile in the kitchen: as an ingredient in baked goods of all kinds, like bread, pizza or cakes, but also great in yogurt or cereal, or smoothies.

30 g Grape seed flour
70 g Almond flour
180 g Refined spelt flour
5 g Baking powder
7 g Baking soda
1 tsp Cinnamon powder
Pinch of salt

80 ml Grape juice
60 g Grapeseed oil
2 Large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
60 g Coconut syrup
4 Ripe bananas, mashed
100 g Dried cranberries
Sprinkles, optional

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line a 10cm x 26cm loaf pan with baking paper.
Combine grapeseed flour, almond flour, spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a large bowl.
Whisk grape juice, grape seed oil, eggs, vanilla, coconut syrup and mashed bananas in a separate bowl. Add the liquid mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in the dried cranberries.
Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface. Top with the sprinkles if using. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 10 minutes to cool before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.