Cinnamon Walnut Banana Bread

I know June isn't synonymous with banana bread but, as I reached to grab some sherbet from the freezer last night, several bananas-on-ice stared back at me, asking, "When are you going to use us up?"

Well, fine: ask and ye shall receive.

I've baked this recipe before, with fantastic results, but I wanted to play around a tiny bit. Cinnamon and walnuts (toasted to enhance the flavor) are a lovely addition, but there's no reason you couldn't play more. If I'd had pecans on hand, I would have used them. What about swapping the cinnamon and walnuts out for cardamom and pistachios? Mmmm, that would be tasty.

As it is, though, I'm very happy with my Cinnamon Walnut Banana loaf. I can hear the bananas calling again: "Don't you think it's time for another slice?"

Why, yes. Yes, I do.

Cinnamon Walnut Banana Bread
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup smashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1/3 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Lightly grease 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch pan and dust with flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick and light, about 5 minutes. Mix in smashed bananas, milk, oil and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon over mixture and mix until just blended. Stir in nuts.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Turn bread out onto rack and cool.

Black Raspberry Muffins

Guess what? This is post #501. What a long, strange trip it's been...


"If I were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one food," said Sadie, "it would be these muffins."

You will have to make them yourself to see if you agree.

Black Raspberry Muffins (adapted from Cook's Illustrated, via The Bitten Word)

2 cups fresh black raspberries, washed and picked over
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar, and another 1 tsp. sugar, separated
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
More sugar for sprinkling (I used vanilla sugar)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425-degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with muffin liners, and lightly oil the top of the pan with oil.

Bring 1 cup berries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk remaining 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar together with the eggs in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not over mix.)

Use an ice cream scoop, large spoon or 1/3 cup dry measuring cup to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle additional sugar evenly over muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins

Thomas has nothing on me.

And certainly nothing on Nicole, who developed this recipe.

In the convenience of your own kitchen, you can whip up cinnamon-raisin English muffins -- from scratch -- in about an hour. (And most of that is sitting around, waiting for the yeast to do its thing.) Your kitchen can be filled with the scent of cinnmony goodness, your toaster can pop up tasty little treats, and your mouth can be made happy by a breakfast favorite -- made that much better because these babies are fresh.

I may never buy another packaged English muffin again. Sorry, Thomas.


Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins (adapted from Baking Bites)
1/3 cup water, warm (about 110 degrees F)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup fat fat milk (100-110 degrees F)
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/3 cup raisins

Whisk together water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl; let mixture stand for 10 minutes until slightly foamy.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except the raisins, and mix until smooth. Stir in the raisins, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 minutes to relax and rise.

Lightly grease a frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls (it will be sticky) onto the pan and cook until medium brown on the bottom. The top and sides will appear set and/or a bit dry; this should take a few (or maybe more) minutes. Flip over and cook other side until brown.

Cool on muffins on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes. To serve, split with a fork and toast.


Makes about 10 muffins.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with Orange Maple Butter

Sometimes when flipping through a magazine, I'll see a recipe and think, "I have to make that." And sometimes, it actually happens.

I spotted this recipe for Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes in last month's Martha Stewart Living and the next morning -- a Sunday (is there a more perfect day for pancakes?) -- I was up, bright and early, making stirring, pouring and flipping.

It was well worth it. The blueberries burst lustfully with each bite of pancake, and the orange maple butter -- a concoction so delicious you'll be desperate to find uses for it if there are any leftovers -- just makes breakfast that much better.

There are two small changes I might make next time. The first is adding zest to the pancake batter itself (this is in addition to the zest in the butter). I love the bright sunshine-y flavor of orange paired with the sweet muskiness of the berries so much, I really can't get enough.

The second is eliminating orange juice from the orange maple butter. I couldn't get both the juice and the syrup to fully emulsify into the butter so while delicious, it was a bit "weepy" and unappealing to the eye.

The recipes for the pancakes and the butter appear without these changes.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with Orange Maple Butter

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar, divided in half
1 1/4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups fresh blueberries

Orange Maple Butter (recipe follows)
Pure maple syrup

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, butter and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (for keeping pancakes warm). Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toss blueberries with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush griddle with melted butter. Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugared blueberries, about 2 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until edges are set, 3 to 4 minutes (bubbles won't appear as with traditional pancakes). Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and blueberries, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven. Serve with orange maple butter and pure maple syrup.

Orange Maple Butter

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Using a rubber spatula, combine ingredients in a small bowl. Orange maple butter can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

Pan de Sal

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Dorothy, a blog reader, asking me to test out a recipe for Pan de Sal.

Pan de Sal is a traditional Filipino roll, usually eaten for breakfast and, despite its name, is on the sweet side.

I've never made these before, so I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. But, the recipe is rather straightforward and, if using a stand mixer (as I did), was fairly simple to pull together. (You don't have to, of course: follow these directions to make them by hand.)

The rolls bake up nicely, are best eaten hot from the oven, and highly addictive -- pillowy soft and lightly sweet. (According to some, they should be sweeter and can be made so by increasing the sugar to 2/3 cup.)

Two other points to note:
I did not roll the dough in breadcrumbs from previous pan de sal as is traditional. The recipe below doesn't address this but if I were to try it, I'd probably roll the dough in the crumbs just before the second rise.

The original recipe calls for the dough to be divided into 4 equal pieces, rolled into logs 1/2 inch in diameter and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I thought this was too small (those are the smaller rolls in the picture above) so instead, I rolled the logs out into 1-inch diameter, and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Pan de Sal

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups all-purpose flour

Put the warm water in a small mixing bowl and add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining sugar and the oil and mix until smooth using the paddle attachment. Add the salt, 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture; stir well. Switch to the dough hook, and add the remaining 5 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Using the dough hook, continuing kneading the dough until smooth, supple and elastic; about 10 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in it and turn to coat the dough with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume; about 1 hour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and roll out into a log about 1 inch in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut each 'log' into 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces, flat side down, onto two lightly greased baking sheets. Gently press each roll down to flatten. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Daring Bakers & The Danish Braid

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: what I love most about the Daring Bakers is that each month's challenge pushes me beyond my comfort zone and forces me to question my notions of baking and what I can do.

Preconceived notions about this challenge?
1) Making a laminated dough is difficult.
2) I don't like danish.

Realities realized after completing the challenge?

1) Making a laminated dough -- at least from this recipe -- is well within my ability! Sure, the instructions are lengthy, but the steps are fairly easy. The most important skill is patience: waiting for the dough to come together, waiting for the dough to rest or rise, waiting to roll and re-roll between turns and -- the most difficult to wait for -- waiting for the danish to cool so it can be eaten without burning my mouth!

2) I hadn't eaten real danish before. I love to eat real danish! The baked dough has the perfect chew, run through with flavor -- butter, vanilla, cardamom, orange -- so scrumptious! And the apple filling is to die for. Make sure you use Fuji apples; their taste and texture hold up well through the sauteeing and baking for a final result that is amazing.

So thank you Kelly and Ben for hosting this month's Daring Bakers challenge and, once again, pushing me to learn more about baking (and a little more about myself, too).

Check out the loooooooong list of Daring Bakers at the Daring Bakers Blog Roll!

Note: watching the danish braid video on this page (featuring Julia Child and Beatrice Ojakangas) really helped me visualize how to construct the braid. I highly recommend taking a look!

Danish Braid

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough, enough for two braids

For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.


2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.


4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.



2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.


3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.


2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.


3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Real Honest Jewish Purist's bagels

A caraway and sea salt bagel with a wild garlic cream cheese schmear.

There are three types of food I'm very particular (if not snobby) about:
1) Pizza (NY style Neapolitan)
2) Lasagna (mine)
3) Bagels

I'm not sure many people have had genuine bagels. (Mmm... genuine bagels.) They're not perfectly round, their consistency is not like other breads, and you don't just pop them in the oven.

Real bagels have a slightly exterior, with a good chewy --not gummy-- interior. They're hand formed and so are not perfect circles. Nor are they smooth. They're boiled, then baked. They're served with a schmear. They are fantastic. But outside of the NY metro area, they are hard to come by.

As you might know, the June 2007 Daring Baker challenge was to make bagels. Though I wasn't a member at that time, I knew I had to use their recipe for Real Honest Jewish Purist's bagels (the link to the original recipe does not seem to be working).

The recipe yield is for 15 but those would be huge, so using a bit less dough, I got approximately 22 satisfyingly sized bagels.

The recipe says that, ideally, when you boil the bagels, they'll sink to the bottom and then begin to rise to the top. Not ONE bagel sunk to the bottom (which seems pretty consistent with other DBers' experiences) so I held them under water for a few seconds with a slotted spoon.

Upon baking, the first batch of bagels -- poofy from their stint in the water -- flattened out while baking. In subsequent batches, I used the convection feature on my oven and received better results.

But the taste? Outstanding; just like those in a good NY bagel shop. I ate at three the day I made them -- bagels sprinkled with caraway seeds and sea salt and filled with a homemade wild garlic cream cheese -- and have eaten one everyday since.

Sadly, my supply is running low. I guess I'll just have to make some more ...

Real Honest Jewish Purist's Bagels

6-8 cups bread (high-gluten) flour
4 tablespoons dry baking yeast
6 tablespoons granulated white sugar or light honey (clover honey is good)
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups hot water
a bit of vegetable oil
1 gallon water
3-5 tablespoons malt syrup or sugar
a few handfuls of cornmeal

Equipment:
large mixing bowl
wire whisk
measuring cups and spoons
wooden mixing spoon
butter knife or baker's dough blade
clean, dry surface for kneading
3 clean, dry kitchen towels
warm, but not hot, place to set dough to rise
large stockpot
slotted spoon
2 baking sheets

How You Do It:
Step 1- Proof Yeast: Pour three cups of hot water into the mixing bowl. The water should be hot, but not so hot that you can't bear to put your fingers in it for several seconds at a time. Add the sugar or honey and stir it with your fingers (a good way to make sure the water is not too hot) or with a wire whisk to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the water, and stir to dissolve.

Wait about ten minutes for the yeast to begin to revive and grow. Skipping this step could result in your trying to make bagels with dead yeast, which results in bagels so hard and potentially dangerous that they are banned under the terms of the Geneva Convention. You will know that the yeast is okay if it begins to foam and exude a sweetish, slightly beery smell.

Step 2- Make Dough: At this point, add about three cups of flour as well as the 2 tsp of salt to the water and yeast and begin mixing it in. Some people subscribe to the theory that it is easier to tell what's going on with the dough if you use your hands rather than a spoon to mix things into the dough, but others prefer the less physically direct spoon. As an advocate of the bare-knuckles school of baking, I proffer the following advice: clip your fingernails, take off your rings and wristwatch, and wash your hands thoroughly to the elbows, like a surgeon. Then you may dive into the dough with impunity. I generally use my right hand to mix, so that my left is free to add flour and other ingredients and to hold the bowl steady. Left-handed people might find that the reverse works better for them. Having one hand clean and free to perform various tasks works best.

When you have incorporated the first three cups of lour, the dough should begin to become thick-ish. Add more flour, a half-cup or so at a time, and mix each addition thoroughly before adding more flour. As the dough gets thicker, add less and less flour at a time.

Step 3- Knead Dough: Soon you will begin to knead it by hand (if you're using your hands to mix the dough in the first place, this segue is hardly noticeable). If you have a big enough and shallow enough bowl, use it as the kneading bowl, otherwise use that clean, dry, flat counter top or tabletop mentioned in the "Equipment" list above. Sprinkle your work surface or bowl with a handful of flour, put your dough on top, and start kneading. Add bits of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking (to your hands, to the bowl or counter top, etc....). Soon you should have a nice stiff dough. It will be quite elastic, but heavy and stiffer than a normal bread dough. Do not make it too dry, however... it should still give easily and stretch easily without tearing.

Step 4- Let Dough Rise: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with one of your clean kitchen towels, dampened somewhat by getting it wet and then wringing it out thoroughly. If you swish the dough around in the bowl, you can get the whole ball of dough covered with a very thin film of oil, which will keep it from drying out.

Place the bowl with the dough in it in a dry, warm (but not hot) place, free from drafts. Allow it to rise until doubled in volume. Some people try to accelerate rising by putting the dough in the oven, where the pilot lights keep the temperature slightly elevated. If it's cold in your kitchen, you can try this, but remember to leave the oven door open or it may become too hot and begin to kill the yeast and cook the dough. An ambient temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Centigrade) is ideal for rising dough.

Step 5- Prepare Water for Bagels: While the dough is rising, fill your stockpot with about a gallon of water and set it on the fire to boil. When it reaches a boil, add the malt syrup or sugar and reduce the heat so that the water just barely simmers; the surface of the water should hardly move.

Step 6- Form Bagels: Once the dough has risen, turn it onto your work surface, punch it down, and divide immediately into as many hunks as you want to make bagels. For this recipe, you will probably end up with about 15 bagels, so you will divide the dough into 15 roughly even-sized hunks.
Begin forming the bagels. There are two schools of thought on this. One method of bagel formation involves shaping the dough into a rough sphere, then poking a hole through the middle with a finger and then pulling at the dough around the hole to make the bagel. This is the hole-centric method. The dough-centric method involves making a long cylindrical "snake" of dough and wrapping it around your hand into a loop and mashing the ends together. Whatever you like to do is fine. DO NOT, however, give in to the temptation of using a doughnut or cookie cutter to shape your bagels. This will push them out of the realm of Jewish Bagel Authenticity and give them a distinctly Protestant air. The bagels will not be perfectly shaped. They will not be symmetrical. This is normal. This is okay. Enjoy the diversity. Just like snowflakes, no two genuine bagels are exactly alike.

Step 7- Pre-heat Oven: Begin to preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 8- Half Proof and Boil Bagels: Once the bagels are formed, let them sit for about 10 minutes. They will begin to rise slightly. Ideally, they will rise by about one-fourth volume... a technique called "half-proofing" the dough. At the end of the half-proofing, drop the bagels into the simmering water one by one. You don't want to crowd them, and so there should only be two or three bagels simmering at any given time. The bagels should sink first, then gracefully float to the top of the simmering water. If they float, it's not a big deal, but it does mean that you'll have a somewhat more bready (and less bagely) texture. Let the bagel simmer for about three minutes, then turn them over with a skimmer or a slotted spoon. Simmer another three minutes, and then lift the bagels out of the water and set them on a clean kitchen towel that has been spread on the counter top for this purpose. The bagels should be pretty and shiny, thanks to the malt syrup or sugar in the boiling water.

Step 9- Bake Bagels: Once all the bagels have been boiled, prepare your baking sheets by sprinkling them with cornmeal. Then arrange the bagels on the prepared baking sheets and put them in the oven. Let them bake for about 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, turn them over and put them back in the oven to finish baking for about ten minutes more. This will help to prevent flat-bottomed bagels.

Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks, or on a dry clean towels if you have no racks. Do not attempt to cut them until they are cool... hot bagels slice abominably and you'll end up with a wadded mass of bagel pulp. Don't do it.

How To Customize Outside of Bagels: After boiling but before baking, brush the bagels with a wash made of 1 egg white and 3 tablespoons ice water beaten together. Sprinkle with the topping of your choice: poppy, sesame, or caraway seeds, toasted onion or raw garlic bits, salt or whatever you like. Just remember that bagels are essentially a savory baked good, not a sweet one, and so things like fruit and sweet spices are really rather out of place.

Orange Scones with Rhubarb and Cherries

Last week's CSA share contained four large stalks of rhubarb. I wanted to use them, but not in a pie, crumble or bar. So I adapted a recipe for moist scone, mixing the rhubarb with orange and cherries.

The main flavor in the resulting scone is orange, but the rhubarb gives each bite a little tang and the cherries add a touch of sweetness.

They were delicious -- Shane ate six of them in one day.


Orange Scones with Rhubarb and Cherries

2/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
2 1/2 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. fresh orange zest
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb (about two large stalks)
1/3 cup dried cherries
Cooking spray


Combine milk, vanilla and egg; place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk mixture, and pulse until just until moist. Add rhubarb and cherries and mix by hand thoroughly.

Turn the dough out onto parchment lined baking sheet and, with floured hands, pat dough into an 8-inch circle (dough will be very sticky). Cut dough into 8 wedges but do not separate. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

Serves 8.

Coffee-Nut Scones

These are I-can't-believe-how-moist-these-scones-are scones. They've got a good coffee flavor, but as someone who likes sweets, I'd probably add an additional 1/3 cup of sugar. Three tablespoons of nuts doesn't do too much either.

Still, this would be an easy recipe to adapt: take out the coffee granules, cinnamon and nuts, and toss in orange extract and/or zest along with a some dried cranberries -- yum.

Coffee-Nut Scones (slightly adapted from Cooking Light)

2/3 c. skim or 1-percent milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 1/2 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3 Tbsp. finely chopped pecans or walnuts
Cooking spray
2 Tbsp. skim or 1-percent milk
2 Tbsp. sugar

Combine 2/3 cup milk and the coffee granules in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute; stir until coffee dissolves. Cover and chill completely. Stir in vanilla and egg.

Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in walnuts. Add milk mixture, and pulse until just until moist.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (dough will be sticky); knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8 wedges; do not separate. Brush the dough with remaining milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

Serves 8.

New York Style Crumb Cake

When I was very little, I would ride with my parents from Long Island to NYC; my parents would go to work, and I would stay at my grandma's house until they returned. We'd usually stop at a coffee truck pulled over on the side of the road and grab breakfast: for me, a carton of chocolate milk and a slab of crumb cake. I would ignore the cake's base (more of a sweet bread than a cake anyway) in favor of the sugary crumbs.

It's something I hadn't thought about in years until watching Cooks Illustrated's podcast on New York Style crumb cake -- and then I had to make it.

The result is a moist, dense (but not heavy) cake base topped by heaps -- and I mean heaps -- of brown sugar crumbs. This recipe does not skimp on the crumb topping; even after you slice the cake into pieces and chunks of topping fall onto the platter, your piece of cake still has a generous crumb cover.

The one thing I would change is the amount of cinnamon used in the crumb. Although the cinnamon flavor intensified the next day (and the day after that) I still would have liked a greater cinnamon punch. Next time, I'd probably add three tablespoons to the crumbs, taste them, and adjust accordingly.

Overall, however, a nice tribute to the NY Style Crumb Cake.




New York-Style Crumb Cake (adapted)

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or way more -- 3 Tbsp. -- to taste)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and still warm
3 1/2 cups cake flour

Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into 12 pieces, softened)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioners' sugar for dusting


For the crumb topping, mix together sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

For the cake, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat to 325-degrees F. Line a 13x9 pan with a parchment paper sling (spray the pan with cooking spray, lay in a sheet of parchment, pushing it into corners and up sides, allowing excess to overhang edges of dish.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Form crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with outer edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Cinnabons™: Not Just at the Mall Anymore!

Mmm, Cinnabon™.

A few weeks ago, I got an invite from Lis -- did I want to join her and several other food bloggers in a live baking project?

Um, yes!

Lis purchased a "Top Secret" recipe for Cinnabon's™ cinnamon rolls to compare with the results of our recent DB cinnamon roll/sticky roll challenge. After negotiating a convenient day and time for us to start, Lis, Marce, Helene, Sara, Kelly, Chris, Mary , and I got to baking.

The recipe came together quite easily, the only issue being that my dough didn't double in size in an hour. (It's November and my kitchen is cold.) The dough did get a bit bigger, but I probably should have waited for it to grow before proceeding. If I had, I think my final product would have been closer in appearance to the originals! (Well, that and I improvised on the icing as I'd run out of cream cheese. Sigh. )

Still, everyone preferred these cinnamon rolls to the ones from the DB challenge; the texture is much closer to that gooey ideal for a cinnamon bun. So, the next time I need to make cinnamon rolls, I'll go with this recipe, but if I want a sticky bun -- and they were fabulous -- I'd turn to our DB recipe.

Cinnabon™ Knock-off Cinnamon Rolls

NOTE: The very savvy Breadchick points out that yeast rise time varies based upon temperature & humidity. She writes, "Here are the rise times I use in the kitchen when I’m working with [Active] yeast: two to two and a half hours for dough to double. Add 1/2 an hour for every 5 degrees below 75F that the temperature is in the place where your dough is rising [...] Add 1/2 an hour to an hour to the expected rise time for humidity over 60%." Please read the rest of her extremely informative post here.

Rolls:

1 pkg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. size)
1 c. warm milk (105- to 110-degrees F.)
½ c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 c. packed brown sugar
2 ½ TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened

Icing:

¼ c. (1/2 stick) butter, softened
¼ c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 ½ c. powdered sugar
1 TBS. whole milk
¼ tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. lemon extract

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, butter, salt & eggs. Add flour and mix well.

Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. (See note about temperature and humidity affecting yeast, above.)

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface.

Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time,evenly spaced, in a lightly greased baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size, about 30 min. Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.

Once the oven is ready, bake rolls for 10 minutes, or until golden on top. While the rolls bake, make the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the milk and flavorings. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.

When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then coat generously with the icing.

My First Daring Bakers Challenge:Cinnamon Rolls & Sticky Buns

Cinnamon rolls.

Sticky buns.

Click here for the recipe.

I was so excited (and, um, nervous) about participating in my first Daring Bakers Challenge, I decided to cover it "live blogger" style.

Of course, that doesn't really work when you publish the coverage almost a month later ... so, suspend disbelief people! Put yourself into the exciting times of September 5th, where flour flew and yeast grew and the result was sweetness and light drizzled with tasty goodness.

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

10 am: Set up mise en place (I'm actually doing a mise en place!), pull out butter and egg. Throw in a load of laundry; finish prepping for tomorrow’s classes.

11am: Pull out buttermilk. Grab lunch; throw laundry in dryer.

12:15: Begin working on dough.

12:44: Dough begins its first proof. So far, so good. The dough is just as the recipe says; “silky and supple, tacky but not sticky.” I didn’t have to add any milk (or flour for that matter) but maybe that’s because I added 1 ¼ cups of buttermilk off the bat. I like the light lemony smell (and, um, taste) the raw dough offers.

Also, God bless Kitchen Aid stand mixers! The dough is beautiful, but if I’d had to knead it for 15 minutes, the dough that wasn’t stuck to my fingers (and hair, and shirt, and countertop…) would be a hideous, lumpy mess.


Next up: rolling out the dough. This is what has me the most concerned. I want to make the smaller rolls but Reinhart’s admonition that the dough shouldn’t be rolled out too thin or “the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump” has me worried. The last time I made cinnamon rolls (and granted, this was 10+ years ago), I wound up with rolls that were pretty decent out of the oven but were very chewy and unappealing after they cooled off. (Come to think of it, I had to knead those little bastards by hand, too. Maybe this is why I’ve shied away from yeast breads—those rolls were pretty difficult. Huh --Who knew the DBers would provide a therapy session for cooking-related trauma? Thanks DBers!) I hope these guys turn out as nicely as everyone elses’!

After proofing, just before the dough is rolled out.

I’m planning on dividing the dough in half and using cinnamon/nutmeg sugar for one side and cardamom/cinnamon sugar for the other. My concern is that the cardamom won’t be punchy enough on its own. (Maybe I have a weak batch of ground cardamom?)

I’m also thinking about trying each version with the icing and caramel (separately, of course!) but I’m going to wait until later to make a final decision on that one. OK, time to walk to dog while the yeast blooms and the dough rises.


3:56pm: Wow! I just finished rolling out the dough – it’s amazing. It’s looking great! It has that faint tangy smell of a sweet yeast bread (is that from the yeast, the lemon extract or a combo of both?) and its texture is smooth and pillowy soft. It’s thrilling! I actually made this -- and it looks good!

I divided the dough in half to accommodate two different fillings: cinnamon/nutmeg (3/4 tsp. cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and 3 Tbsp. plus 1 ½ tsp.sugar) and cardamom (just shy of a full1 tsp of cardamom plus 3 Tbsp. plus 1 ½ tsp.sugar). The smells that filled my kitchen! Spicy, warm, exotic – delicious!

After sprinkling each side with spiced sugar and rolling up the dough, I had a little bit of trouble getting the rolls to cut evenly. But I found a light coat of spray oil on the blade of a bread knife made quick work of things; I reapplied the oil after every two or three cuts.



Right now, two rolls (one cardamom, one cinnamon/nutmeg) are proofing while all the others are on parchment-lined baking sheets in the freezer. (That way, we won’t be “forced” to gobble them all up in one sitting…) Once the rolls are frozen, I’ll transfer them to Ziplock bags for easier storage.


I can’t wait to see how the rolls bake up!

8:09pm: The rolls have been baked and glazed with the fondant. They look quite pretty, but the texture -- . They’re not tender; they’re not the soft gooey mouth feel of traditional cinnamon buns. They’re more like bread. Yummy, tasty, flavorful bread, but not what I was expecting. Maybe I baked them too long? Maybe they’ll soften up under the caramel glaze?

9:28pm: I ask the DBers for input:

OK, I made the rolls (half cinnamon, half cardamom) and it seemed like everything was going really well (gorgeous, pillowy soft dough! ) until I poked my fork into the baked buns. They’re not soft and almost gooey as I’d expected; they’re rather bread-like. Albeit very, very tasty bread. I like the cardamom better than the cinnamon one, but that didn’t stop me from scarfing the cinnamon down lickety-split. (And, mmm mmm for the lightly lemony fondant glaze.)I only baked off two, so I have 11 rolls in the freezer, and am thinking I might get a softer product by using them for sticky rolls instead of glazing them with fondant…

Anyway, what kind of texture should this recipe yield? I don’t have much experience with yeast breads (which is why I was both excited and nervous by this month’s challenge!). I’m open to any and all suggestions; maybe I should give things another go?

-----
It turns out that, yes, this is the texture they're supposed to yield (phew!). A few days later, I tackled the sticky buns. They baked up beautifully, and the taste & texture were FABULOUS. They're softer and more gooey, plus the caramel is to die for. I prefer the sticky buns, but that doesn't mean I'd turn my nose up at a cinnamon roll, either!

I had a wonderful time with this challenge. Big thanks to Marce (this month's host) and Lis and Ivonne (the DB originators) for bringing it to all of us.

Next up: the October challenge!

Cinnamon Rolls & Sticky Buns Recipe

Click here for photos and a discussion of making this recipe.

Cinnamon and Sticky Buns
(from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice)
Daring Bakers Challenge #10: September 2007
Host: Marce (Pip in the City)

Days to Make: One (1)
Active/Resting/Baking Time: 15 minutes to mix, 3 1/2 hours fermentation/shaping/proofing, 20 - 40 minutes to bake
Recipe Quantity: Eight(1) - twelve (12) large rolls or twelve (12) - sixteen (16) small rolls

Making the Dough


Ingredients:

6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) shortening or unsalted butter or margarine
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon extract OR 1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast*
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature OR 3 tablespoons powdered milk (DMS) and 1 cup water
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or any other spices you want to use, cardamom, ginger, allspice, etc.)
White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns or caramel glaze for sticky buns (at the end of the recipe.)
Walnuts, pecans, or other nuts (for sticky buns.)
Raisins or other dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or dried cherries (for sticky buns, optional.)
*Instant yeast contains about 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast, regardless of the brand. Instant yeast is also called rapid-rise or fast-rising.


Step 1 - Making the Dough: Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand).

Note: if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, and add the water with the flour and yeast.

Whip in the egg and lemon extract/zest until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.


Step 2 - Fermentation: Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.


Step 3 - Form the Buns: Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don´t roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.

Step 4 - Prepare the Buns for Proofing:

For cinnamon buns: line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren´t touching but are close to one another.
For sticky buns: coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4 inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins (if you are using raisins or dried fruit.) You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.

Step 5 - Proof the Buns: Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.


Step 6 - Bake the Buns:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the oven rack in the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.

Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. [NOTE: Most of the DBers found that the cinnamon & sticky buns were finished more quickly than this. I pulled my sticky buns out after 20 minutes. Check the baking process early & often. --LR] If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.

Step 8 - Cool the buns:

For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving.

For the sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over into another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.

Toppings for the Buns:

White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns

Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)


Caramel glaze for sticky buns

Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crack-your-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon. This version makes the best sticky bun glaze of any I´ve tried. It was developed by my wife, Susan, for Brother Juniper´s Cafe in Forestville, California.

NOTE: you can substitute the corn syrup for any neutral flavor syrup, like cane syrup or gold syrup.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.

2. Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

3. Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.

La Festa al Fresco Submission: Honeyed Zucchini Muffins (or Cupcakes?) with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Once again, Lis from La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice have teamed up to host La Festa al Fresco. The event is a celebration of fresh, seasonal (and preferably local) ingredients. Such a good idea, no?

So, armed with plenty of zucchini from my neighbors' garden plus 2 lbs of fresh, raw honey from the Rochester Public Market, I set out to find a recipe that combined the two for a tasty sweet treat. And I found it!

Now here's the thing: without the frosting, these delicious little guys are in muffin territory. With the scrumptious frosting, they cross over into cupcake land with their close cousins, the carrot cakes.

Mupcakes? Cuppins? However you decide to think of 'em, they're yummy.

Thank you to Lis & Ivonne for hosting!

Honeyed Zucchini Muffins/Cupcakes? with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted)

For cakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon Chinese 5-Spice powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (2 medium)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/2 cup oil
1 cup honey, preferably of a medium to deep color/flavor
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla


For frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest

Cakes: Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. (You may wind up with extra batter for about 3 more cupcakes. so you may want to prep another tin.)



In a large bowl, combine flour, 5-spice powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, whisk together zucchini, orange zest, oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla, then pour into flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely, 1 hour.
--
Frosting:
Beat together frosting ingredients with an electric mixer at high speed until well-combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Frost tops of cooled cupcakes.

Faye's Monkey Bread

This recipe comes from Faye, a women whom Shane used to work with. Faye's monkey bread never failed to be appreciated -- and devoured -- when she brought it in to work.

This isn't your typical monkey bread recipe. Faye's recipe is closer to caramel cinnamon rolls, all grouped together for a delicious, sticky unravelling. For starters, the based is a comprised of pre-made cinnamon and dinner rolls. (I preferred the soft, yielding consistency of the cinnamon roll dough to the chewy, bread-like feel of the dinner rolls, so I now use solely cinnamon roll dough -- the recipe below reflects this change.) Nor is the dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, but topped with a caramel sauce and butterscotch pudding mix. (OK, I was dubious of the pudding too, but it gets completely absorbed into the caramel during baking, and adds another dimension of flavor.)

Kian, Sadie & I decided to bake some up yesterday. (Is there be a better way to spend a cool and rainy summer afternoon?) It was a really great activity; the kids were doubly invested in baking because A) they'd had monkey bread before (though not Faye's) and loved it and B) they were actively involved in the baking process.

It's sort of funny how surprised they got a little things I don't usually take notice of: the way butter looks when it melts over a medium flame, the sand-like color and texture of brown sugar, the enhancement of flavors when just a little vanilla is added, the way yeast breads double in size when they're allowed to sit in a warm, draft-free spot.

The end result baked up beautifully and looks impressive, crowned with pecans and dripping with caramel sauce. We happily pulled it apart eaten by all of us with tall glasses of milk. It's completely satisfying and very filling.


BIG thanks to Faye for sharing her recipe!

Monkey bread: after we attacked .

Faye's Monkey Bread

The only adjustment is the addition of vanilla.

1/2 cup pecans (optional)
1 package. frozen Rhodes cinnamon rolls quartered
1 pkg. instant butterscotch pudding mix (regular size, not larger size)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Liberally grease a large bundt pan. Spread pecans evenly on the bottom of the pan, and top with the frozen rolls. Sprinkle pudding mix over the rolls.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat, stirring to prevent burning. Reduce heat to low and add brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Continue stirring until the mixture does not separate. Pour over frozen rolls. Cover bundt pan with plastic, place in a warm, draft free place, and let rise as directed on package. Bake at 350-degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the top is brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Invert onto a large plate (you may need to gently loosen the bread from the sides of the pan) and serve warm.

Strawberry Rhubarb Marvelous Muffins

I picked up a copy of Joan Donogh's recipe for rhubarb muffins with a bunch of rhubarb at the Canandaigua Farmers' Market. I'd also picked up some strawberries so, with a couple of minor changes (can you guess the biggest one?) these became strawberry rhubarb muffins.

Extremely moist and flavorful, these muffins have a sweet brown sugar-cinnamon topping and mildly vanilla flavored base studded with fresh bits of rhubarb and strawberry. If you'd like more of a rhubarb bite, increase the rhubarb and decrease the strawberries, as long the total amount of vegetable/fruit comes to 2 cups -- or just use Joan's original recipe! (I've got some rhubarb left over, and I'm thinking that's just what I'll do.)



Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins (adapted from Now... You're Cooking!)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped strawberries

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg, stir in butter, buttermilk and vanilla.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the egg mixture all at once. Stir until just blended. Fold in strawberries and rhubarb. Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin tins.

For the topping, combine sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle a spoonful of topping over each muffin and bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Vegetable-and-Cheese Strata

This is very tasty and simple to make, especially because all the prep work is done ahead of time. Don't worry if it looks as if there's very little egg compared to the veggies, cheese and bread: it all bakes up nicely.

One note: I substituted a few shallots for the onions in the recipe below.

Vegetable-and-Cheese Strata
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups diced zucchini
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 cup chopped drained canned artichoke hearts
8 cups (1-inch) cubed Italian bread (about 8 ounces)
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups egg substitute
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
Oregano sprigs (optional)

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and garlic, and sauté vegetable mixture 6 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in artichokes, and set aside.

Arrange Italian bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon zucchini mixture evenly over bread cubes, and sprinkle mixture with cheeses.

Combine egg substitute and remaining ingredients (except oregano sprigs) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over zucchini mixture. Cover mixture with foil; chill up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. Bake strata, covered, 1 hour or until bubbly. Garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings


NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 229(19% from fat); FAT 4.9g (sat 2.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 17.5g; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 336mg; SODIUM 570mg; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.1g

Baked French Toast with Praline Topping

Trust me: it looks and tastes much better in person.

Yesterday was a lot of fun, but I'm exhausted today! Lots of laughing, lots of playing Wii Sports (I have tennis shoulder this morning), and lots and lots eating food. Ham, turkey, strata, french toast, Irish soda bread, fresh berries, cookies, Easter eggs, cheesecake and sfogliatelle -- all consumed -- plus coffee, tea, sodas, mimosas.

I guess I shouldn't have been suprised, but the runaway hit of the Easter brunch was Paula Dean's Baked French Toast with Praline Topping. It dissapeared in a flash, because it was damned good.

Then again, it's probably hard to make something with half-n-half, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and two sticks of butter and have it not turn out delicious.


Baked French Toast with Praline Topping

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. [I couldn't fit all the bread into a 9x13 pan, so I used a 10-inch pie plate for the extra bread, and split the other ingredients between the two pans accordingly --LR] In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping (see ingredients, below) evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Cinnamon Raspberry Muffins

This is a slightly adapted muffin recipe and, if I do say so myself, they came out very nicely.

The flavor is gently sweet with a nice contrast between the warm, spicy cinnamon notes and the bright and fresh flavors from the raspberry jam. The crumb is tender and moist and the sugar topping even adds a bit of sparkle and charm. Overall, a pretty tasty breakfast treat.

Cinnamon Raspberry Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tablespoons buttermilk (use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk on hand)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. raspberry jam (or substitute another flavor)

Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar (use more or less to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (use more or less to your taste)

Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Place 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (sugar through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, butter, milk, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Batter will be thick

Spoon about one tablespoon batter into each muffin cup. Top each with about a teaspoon of jam. Top evenly with the remaining batter. For topping, combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Bake 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, place muffins on wire rack, and allow to finish cooling.

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

About the NYT's Irish Soda Bread

My great-grandmother, Margaret Mulligan née Cummins, emigrated from Ireland when (as family lore has it) she was 14. She left her parents, never to see them again, crossed the Atlantic, went through Ellis Island and resided with some not-so-nice family members in New York. She got married to an Irishman in New York who --yes-- owned a bar, drank like a fish, and ran around on her. They had five children before he up and left all of them, leaving my great-grandmother the burden of it all.

Really, it was enough to make anyone bitter, but that just wasn't in Grammie. By the time I came around, she was 86 and the nicest person on the planet. Perhaps she worried from time to time, but she was always kind, sweet and gentle.

Aside from the fuzzy memories I have to remember her by (she died when I was nine) I have her recipe for Irish soda bread. I am not exaggerating when I say it is the most fantastic Irish soda bread in existence. It does not go stale because it is gobbled up too quickly.

But for whatever reason, I'm not really ready to share the recipe -- or as i think of it, family secret. I have given it to one or two people in the past, which I regret. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so attached to it, or why I want to guard so much, but I do and until that changes, I'm going to honor that.

Having said all this, the NYT this week published a recipe for Irish soda bread and, though not exact, it's close to my great-grandmother's recipe (her's is simpler). Both recipes yield something much closer to a cake or quick bread than traditional bread. Plus, as the article points out, "any soda bread [the author has] tasted has been from within the five boroughs of New York," so it's entirely possible that Grammie got the recipe from a newspaper clipping or magazine article. Maybe it didn't sail over the Atlantic with her but still, I am fiercely protective of it.

So if you're looking for a recipe, give the NYT's a try, but know that it's not what my grandmother would have baked. For that, you'll have to visit me in person so I can hand you a slice of the good stuff.

Bring some quality Irish tea.


NYT's recipe for Irish Soda bread

Butter for greasing pan plus 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups raisins or currants
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Grease a 10-inch oven-proof skillet and line with parchment or waxed paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the raisins or currants and caraway seeds.

Pour batter into skillet. Brush top with remaining butter. Bake until golden and firm to touch, about 1 hour.

Yield: 1 10-inch loaf.