Category Archives: Cakes & Pastry

Southern Poelenta/Buttermilk Biscuits

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(full recipe: https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/recipes/Pulinos-Polenta-Biscuits-With-Sausage-Gravy-Recipe)

Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

Polenta biscuits:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup fine or medium-ground cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅔ cup buttermilk
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the polenta biscuits: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the melted butter, then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together in a ball.

2. Using a measuring cup, form six ½-cup clumps of dough, dropping each onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom.

 

Laugenbrezeln

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Zutaten

  • 400-420g Milch (400-420ml milk)
  • eine Packung Hefepulver (one pack dry yeast)
  • 600g Mehl (600gr flour)
  • 2 TL Salz (2 teaspoons of salt)
  • 600g Wasser (600ml water)
  • 4 EL Natron / Bicarb Soda (4 tablespoons bicarb soda)
  • ggf grobes Salz oder Sesam (if wanted course salt or sesame seeds for the top)

Zubereitung (Ingredients)

Arbeitszeit: ca. 30 Min. (takes about 30 min)
Makes about 10 large Brezeln, or 16 small ones.

Milk needs to be room temperature

Milch, Hefe, Mehl und Salz in den Mixtopf geben und gut per Hand kneten (3-5 Minuten)
Mix Milk, Yeast and Salt well and knead for circa 3-5 minutes

Den Teig dann an einem warmen Ort circa 30 Minuten gehen lassen bis sich das Volumen verdoppelt hat.
Leave the dough to rise in a warm location. It should have doubled its size in around 30 minutes

Den Teig in 16-20 Stücke für kleine Brezeln; ca. 10 Teile für große Brezeln teilen und nochmals zugedeckt ca. 20 Minuten ruhen lassen.
Split the dough into 10 or 16 dough parts (I do around 16 for small Brezeln) and leave it to rest another 20 minutes (you can also leave this part out)

Den Backofen auf 180° C (Umluft 160° C) vorheizen. Das Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Put baking paper on the baking tray and position the tray near the pot…

Wasser mit 4 EL Natron / Bicarb Soda zum kochen bringen. Aus den Teigstücken Brezeln formen. Mit einem Schaumlöffel die Gebäckstücke ca. 30 – 60 Sekunden in die Lauge eintauchen und sofort aufs Backblech legen.
Bring water and bicarb soda to the boil. Make the Brezeln, by making a long roll with small ends. (I am rolling it, then swinging the around to stretch it long). The make the Brezel and put it for 30-60 seconds in the boiling water. Take it out with a slotted spoon and put it on the baking paper. 

Die Brezeln am dicken Teil einschneiden mit Sesam und/oder groben Salz bestreuen und ca. 20-25 Minuten backen.
Cut a slit into the thick side. You can add coarse salt or sesame seeds to the Brezeln now if you like

Schmeckt hervorragend mit Butter bestrichen!

Quarkhörnchen

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Makes 15-20 depending on size

quarkhörnchen

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g Quark
  • 2 eggs
  • 75g sugar
  • 2 tsps (12g) vanilla sugar
  • 2 tbsps milk
  • 6 tbsps sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • lemon zest
  • 300 g flour
  • 3 tsps baking powder
  • 20g caster sugar
  • 20g butter

Combine the quark, eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, milk, sunflower oil, vanilla and lemon zest, then stir in the flour and baking powder and knead well. The dough should not be too wet so maybe keep aside one egg and some quark and add them in as needed.

Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, then roll it out to about a 1 cm thickness and cut into strips. Roll and form them into crescents. Melt half the butter and brush it onto the crescents. Bake at 180C for 8 to 10 minutes – they will still be pale when done.

Brush on the rest of the melted butter and dust with caster sugar.

 

Chocolate Sugar Cookies (Peeda Party)

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(Yields approx 10-12 penguins)

These crisp chocolate wafers may be rolled out and cut into shapes suitable for any festivity. Store the cookies in a tin with a tight-fitting lid to keep them fresh.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached white pastry flour
  • 1/3 cup Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and form into a thick dough. If the dough is soft, wrap it in plastic and chill for 1/2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a baking sheet.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, stick in wooden lolly pop sticks if wanted (they need to be soaked in water first so they do not burn) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the centers of the cookies are firm. With a spatula, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

From the Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites, published by Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. 1996. http://www.equalexchange.coop/chocolate-sugar-cookies

Icing

(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sugar-cookie-icing/)

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 teaspoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup (I used golden syrup)
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • assorted food coloring
  1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
  2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.
  3. Takes about 6 hours to dry

Easy wholemeal cheese crackers

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon spike salt-free seasoning (any salt free/herb seasoning will work)
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to setting 7 (400F).

  2. Mix the first three ingredients with a blender (can be a bit messy if the cheese is not yet grated finely)
  3. Add the butter and pulse and until a ball forms.
  4. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on a floured or parchment-covered surface. Slice into crackers or cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.
  5. Bake for 15-17 minutes (found about 13 is enough)
  6. Serve.

Link

http://weelicious.com/2012/01/10/whole-wheat-cheddar-crackers/

Comments

Keep them in an air tight container on the counter. I should say they last for 5 days (but, it’s actually much longer). They also freeze after baked and cooled (or before baked) beautifully!

Experiments

Batch one: 17th July, tastes amazing fresh out of oven. Had tasty Bega cheese, threw in a few mixed herbs, and had normal flour and buckwheat flour 50/50. So how do they taste the next days from tupperware (if they last that long!!!). Also brushed egg yolk on them and sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.). Cooking, well cutting out takes long though!

 

 

 

Lemon yoghurt cake

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 3 extra-large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Greaseand flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.