Hot-cross muffins

These delicious and tender muffins, perfumed with spices and moist from a sugar syrup, are a great way to avoid a chocolate OD during the Easter holiday: they're perfect for breakfast or brunch and are very quick to make, unlike their yeasted cousin.

Hot-cross muffins
from the always mouthwatering Delicious - Australia

Muffins:
135g dried cranberries
1 cup (150g) golden raisins
375g self-rising flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2/3 cup (160mll) canola oil
1 cup (250ml) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

Syrup and icing:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup (70g) icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
Soak the cranberries and raisins in just enough boiling water to cover for 10 minutes. Drain well, then pat dry with paper towel.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and sugar until combined. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in the fruit. Divide the mixture among muffin cases, then bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to the rack.
Syrup: place the granulated sugar in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons water and simmer over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Brush the glaze over the muffins.
Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add lemon juice and just enough hot water to make a thick, pipable icing. Use a piping bag or drizzle from a spoon to draw a cross on each muffin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12 - I halved the recipe above, used 1/3-cup capacity muffin pans and got 9 muffins

Colomba Pasquale

My husband is not into sweets – I guess that the Universe knows better, right? :) – but he likes certain baked goods, like panettone and Colomba Pasquale. However, the store-bought versions are so heavily scented with artificial essences that he no longer eats them – he says those baked goods are not what they used to be when he was younger anymore and that all those artificial ingredients disagree with his stomach. Therefore, he was very excited about my homemade Colomba, and after having a slice of the freshly baked bread he said that not only it tasted delicious – like “the real deal” – he felt absolutely fine after eating it.

The picky-eater hubby enjoying my Colomba Pasquale really made my weekend, and reading that the production on season 2 of “House of Cards” is expected to start this month was the icing on the cake. \0/

Colomba Pasquale
slightly adapted from the always delicious and beautiful Australian Gourmet Traveller

Starter:
¾ cup + ½ tablespoon (110g) all purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon dried yeast
90ml water, room temperature

Colomba:
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (62g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, whole
1 large egg, yolk and white separated
2 teaspoons dried yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 orange
½ cup (75g) golden raisins
1/3 cup (35g) dried cranberries
75g dried apricots, finely diced
60g finely chopped candied orange peel

Topping:
1/3 cup (66g) demerara sugar
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal
30g flaked almonds

For starter, stir ingredients in a bowl until smooth, cover with plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for 12 hours.
Transfer starter to an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add flour, granulated sugar, butter, the whole eggs, the yolk, yeast, vanilla and orange zest and mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and shiny and starts to leave sides of bowl (about 8 minutes). Add dried fruit and candied peel, mix to combine, then cover and stand until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
Knock down dough and divide into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Shape the larger piece into a 30cm-(12in) long cylinder, tapering slightly at one end, and place on a large baking sheet lined with foil. Form remaining piece into a 20cm-(8in) long cylinder and lay across the larger cylinder, about one-third of the way down from the tapered end. Cover with a tea towel and stand until slightly risen (35-40 minutes). In the meantime, preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.
Topping: combine demerara sugar, almond meal, almonds and egg white in a bowl, scatter over dough, bake for 15 minutes, reduce oven to 160°C/320°F and bake until golden and cooked through, 15-20 minutes (cover with foil if colomba gets too brown). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 10

Apple and cinnamon hot cross buns for Easter + "Soul Kitchen"

Someone told me once – and I hate it that I cannot remember who it was – that I would love “Soul Kitchen” because it is a movie about a restaurant and there was food involved; since watching the excellent "The Wave" I’d become more interested in German movies, so I rented “Soul Kitchen” and yes, it is a movie about a restaurant and there is food involved, but it’s so much more than that: to me, it’s about relationships and how they affect people’s lives.

* spoilers*

“Soul Kitchen” is full of funny elements – Zinos’ ringtone being one of my favorites – and yet it brings up more dramatic subjects, many of them some of us can relate to: Zinos’ struggle to maintain the restaurant, his need to decide between being with his girlfriend and staying where he feels he belongs to, the brother who causes nothing but trouble (and is a gambling addict, no less)... All of that mixed with images of whipped cream, lamb chops, white chocolate and vanilla beans – I loved it and have added other movies by Fatih Akin to my “to watch” list.

***
Hot cross buns have some interesting story behind them – while researching I found this adorable video with Heston Blumenthal; it was my first time making these buns – I used a recipe from the always beautiful Gourmet Traveller and the buns turned out tender, moist and delicious – the apple compote while cooking had such an amazing smell that I wish there could be a way for it to be trapped in scented candle form. :)

Apple and cinnamon hot cross buns
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Australian Gourmet Traveller

Apple and lemon compote:
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (375ml) water
1 lemon
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, diced
1 cinnamon quill

Dough:
5 cups (700g) all purpose flour + 1/3 cup (46g) extra for the piping mixture
1 cup (155g) golden raisins
80g dried apple, diced
14g (2 sachets/4 ½ teaspoons) dried yeast
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
5 ½ tablespoons (65g) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (375ml) whole milk
100g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 egg

Start with the compote: combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan, then squeeze in juice of half the lemon and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, cut remaining lemon half into 3mm-thick slices, add to saucepan with Granny Smith apples and cinnamon quill. Bring to the simmer, reduce heat to medium and cook until lemon and apple are translucent (20-25 minutes). Strain, reserving fruit and syrup separately. When cool enough to handle, dice lemon, combine with apple. Remove the cinnamon quills, add them to the syrup and set aside.
Combine flour, raisins, dried apple, yeast, ground cinnamon, allspice, zests, sugar, apple compote and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan, warm over low heat until butter melts and mixture is lukewarm. Whisk in egg, then add milk mixture to flour, stirring to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes) – I used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook to knead the dough; gradually added 1/3 cup flour because the mixture was too wet.
Place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes). Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with foil.
Knock back dough, divide into 20 even pieces, then knead each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange dough in a large rectangle, placing balls side by side onto prepared sheet, leaving 1cm between each for dough to expand. Cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes).
Preheat oven to 220°C/428°F. Combine the 1/3 cup extra flour and ¼ cup (60ml) cold water in a bowl and stir to a smooth paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle and pipe a cross shape onto each bun. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce oven to 200°C/400°F and bake until golden and buns sound hollow when tapped (10-12 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine reserved syrup and cinnamon quill in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until syrupy. Brush thickly over hot buns, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 20

Double-chocolate peanut butter cookies

Chocolate is great paired with so many things: cherries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, caramel… Not to mention the fantastic flavor one gets by combining white chocolate and citrus flavors. But I had never tried one of the most talked about pairings: chocolate and peanut butter.

I used to eat peanut butter spread on thick slices of bread as a kid but hadn’t tried it again in 20 years. Eating a spoonful of it took me back in time… It was a funny/good feeling.
I’d been meaning to try my hand at baking with peanut butter for a while (that’s why I did not eat the entire jar) and these cookies seemed the perfect way to start.

So, it’s true that chocolate and peanut butter belong together – like Aragorn and Arwen.

This recipe is a courtesy of the lovely and talented Lynn – I was out of milk chocolate chips and used white chocolate instead; even though I really liked the cookies, I think they would have been even better with milk chocolate, like Lynn’s.

Double-chocolate peanut butter cookies

168g (6oz) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used 60% cocoa
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (120g) packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup (165g) granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (240g) creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (335g/12oz) white chocolate chips

Arrange racks in oven to divide it into thirds. Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF. In a double boiler, melt the semisweet chocolate over hot, not simmering, water. Set aside to cool to about room temperature.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and the peanut butter*. Add the sugars and beat until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until just combined. Add the flour mixture and the milk chocolate chips, and beat until no streaks of flour are visible.

Pour the melted chocolate over the dough and drag a wooden spoon through. You want to just marbleize, not combine. Leave streaks of chocolate.

Drop the dough in 1 ½-tablespoon mounds 2 inches (5cm) apart onto ungreased baking sheets (I didn’t read this and lined my baking sheets with baking paper). Bake for 23 minutes, or until just set but still soft. Rotate the baking sheets, top to bottom, halfway through cooking. Cool on the baking sheet for 30 seconds then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

* this info was missing on the post so I added the peanut butter in the end, after the flour mixture and the chips. It worked fine.

Makes about 55 cookies – Lynn’s cookies were bigger, made with 3 tablespoons of dough

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla-Cream Filling (Homemade Oreos)

There are certain things that we know are great way before we even see/hear them.

Take Kanye West, for instance; I knew who he was (after Katrina and his TV statement) even though I did not know any of his songs. The minute I read that he had recorded a song featuring Daft Punk I knew it would be amazing – and I wasn’t wrong. To make things even better, the guys are on the video, too! How cool is that?

The same thing happened with this recipe. When I read that these cookies were a homemade version of Oreos I knew I had to try them. They had to be good. I mean, Oreos are delicious – I absolutely love them – and Adrienne says on her post that the cookies were BETTER than the store-bought ones… I have to tell you that she was right. Oh, so right. These are FANTASTIC.

The cream I made was a tad too sweet because I ended up using more confectioners’ sugar than it was necessary; but please, don’t mind me and my stupid conversion mistakes - go ahead and bake these cookies (I’m posting the correct amount).

One last thing: has anyone watched this? It’s on my wish list and I’d love to hear your opinion about it.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla-Cream Filling (Homemade Oreos)

Chocolate Wafers:
1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (141g/1 ¼ sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

Vanilla-Cream Filling:
¼ cup (57g/½ stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
¼ cup (57g) vegetable shortening
2 cups (280g) sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 190ºC/375ºF.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 5cm (2in) apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes (I baked mine for 10), rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1.25cm (½ in) round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Makes 30 sandwich cookies – I got 37

Waiter There’s Something In My… Easter Basket! Chocolate heart filled with beijinho

When I saw this month’s “Waiter There’s Something In My… Easter Basket”, hosted by Johanna the Passionate Cook I knew I had to participate – I thought of making a special chocolate egg like the ones I made last year. The egg shells were filled with the most delicious fillings – brigadeiro, beijinho, creamy truffles, dulce de leche, Nutella…
Unfortunately, with the hot weather we’ve been having here lately – 32ºC – it’s almost impossible to work with chocolate.
I tried making a chocolate egg on the weekend but it was a nightmare. Too hot. Last night I decided to try again with something smaller – a chocolate heart.
It wasn’t perfect but at least I could take a couple of photos to show the idea of filled Easter chocolate eggs.

For the following amounts I used an 8cm plastic heart shaped mold – you may adjust the ingredients to make larger hearts or eggs. As I mentioned above, you can use many kinds of fillings – just be careful not to use something too runny, otherwise it will be hard to encase it and cover it with chocolate to seal the egg.

Chocolate heart filled with beijinho

200g chocolate – choose the one you love: milk, bittersweet, semisweet or white

Beijinho:
½ can sweetened condensed milk (197g)
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut

Make the filling: mix the condensed milk, coconut and butter in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show, remove from heat, pour in a greased plate, set aside to cool. Don’t use it unless it’s completely cool.

Chop the chocolate and place in a glass bowl. Melt it either using the double-boiler process or the microwave.
You have to temper the chocolate – it has to be done properly, otherwise your coating won’t dry correctly and won’t be glossy and resistant to temperature changes. Click here to learn how to temper chocolate correctly.
The other way to temper chocolate is to pour it over a piece of granite and, using a plastic or metal spatula, spread the chocolate over the stone making continuous movements – the granite will cool down the chocolate very quickly. Dip the end of a toothpick in the chocolate and put it against your lip – if it feels cold, it’s ready to mold. Using the same spatula, quickly remove the chocolate from the granite back into the bowl. Start molding it.
That’s the way I make it because I have a granite piece that’s used ONLY for this. Otherwise, chocolate will be contaminated and will never be in perfect conditions.
Spread chocolate with a brush or spoon on the molds to form the first layer. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, making sure that mold cavity is turned upwards. Repeat the procedure twice - each layer must be thin. Remove from refrigerator when chocolate is set.
To fill each half of the heart use the back of a spoon to spread filling evenly (the chocolate layers must be very hard when applying filling). Leave 1 cm at the edges without filling for better adherence of the last chocolate layer. Refrigerate again for 5 minutes.
Spread chocolate all over the filling until thoroughly covered. Scrape mold edge with a spatula to eliminate chocolate excess. Refrigerate again until chocolate hardens – it will loose from the mold. Never “force” this step and never touch the mold – the heat of your hands will stain the chocolate. Always hold the molds by their edges.

Click here to see step-by-step photos of how to make different kinds of chocolate eggs.

Unmold the chocolate heart on a piece of waxed paper and leave it for 4 hours before wrapping.
Wrap it with candy foil – never use regular foil because it may increase the temperature around the chocolate and cause it to melt.
Place the chocolate in beautiful paper boxes, wrap it in cellophane... Use your imagination to
decorate it!

Makes one 420g chocolate heart (approx.), without candies inside*

* to make all your chocolate Easter eggs with the same weight, you must consider the following proportion: 80% of the total weight of the egg is formed by both shells; 20% is formed by the candies inside the eggs. For example: in a 500g egg, 400g are shells (200g each) and 100g are candies.
To make each shell the proper weight, use a precise kitchen scale.

To you make chocolate eggs with filled shells use a mold with less capacity than the weight you are aiming. For example: to make a 750g filled egg, use a 500g mold.
Be careful with the amount of filling you use, otherwise there won’t be any space inside the egg to place the candies.