Iced cinnamon snail rolls and when less is more

I hadn’t made cinnamon rolls in ages and this recipe, from Bill Granger’s "Sydney Food", seemed easy and quick to put together. It was – I watched TV all afternoon and yet finished baking the rolls before dinnertime.
I tried to restrain myself and not eat one of the rolls right out of the oven, but ended up giving up the fight after 5 minutes: the warm, tender rolls, deeply perfumed with cinnamon and freckled with raisins were irresistible. And I must say that as much as the rolls look beautiful with the icing on top I prefer them without it, still warm.

You know what they say: “less is more” - but some people take the idea to a whole new level... :)

Iced cinnamon snail rolls
from "Sydney Food"

Dough:
2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter
4 cups (560g) all purpose flour, plus extra if necessary
pinch of salt
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup (104g) golden raisins

Filling:
¾ cup (132g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon warm water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Start by making the dough: in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside. Place milk and butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Mix to combine roughly, and then add the milk and yeast mixtures. Stir until a dough forms.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes or until dough is flexible and smooth – add more flour if needed, but be careful not to add too much flour or your rolls will turn out tough. Add the raisins to the dough in the last 2 minutes of kneading – I used my Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment in the whole process and needed to add 2 tablespoons extra flour. Turn dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size – 40-60 minutes.
Make the filling: combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a 23x60cm (9x24in) rectangle. Brush generously with some of the melted butter and sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface.
Roll the dough up from the short end, swiss roll style, to make a log. Pinch seams to seal. Cut the roll, seam-side down, into 2cm thick slices and place onto a large baking sheet lined with foil, 5cm (2in) apart. Brush the tops of the rolls with the melted butter , cover loosely and leave to rise until doubled, 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan over a wire rack; drizzle with the icing.*
Make the icing: mix the sugar, water and vanilla together in a small bowl until fluid enough to be drizzled over the rolls. Add more water if necessary. Drizzle over the rolls.

* I cooled the rolls completely before drizzling with the icing

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above and got 8 rolls

Bakewell slice and almost forgotten CDs and books

Trying to organize – at least a little – my CD collection I found this CD: I bought it in 1996 because of 3-4 songs but a couple of days later all the tracks had become favorites of mine – and still are. I absolutely love Erasure and even though I hadn’t listened to this CD in several months I instantly started singing along each and every song.

That kind of feeling is what made me want so badly to cook or bake something from "Feast" – despite having bought the book in 2007 I don’t use it very often, but I get something delicious every time I do; These bars are no exception.

Bakewell slice
from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life

Base:
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (47g) icing sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and chopped

Frangipane filling:
2/3 cup (150g/1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter
4 eggs
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
1 ½ cups (150g) almond meal
2/3 cup (80g) flaked almonds
1 heaping cup jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan, line with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.
Start with the base: put the flour, icing sugar and salt into a food processor and blitz to combine and remove any lumps. Add the butter and process again to get a crumbly mixture that’s beginning to come together. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and press into the base of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Make the topping: melt the butter and set aside. Put the eggs, sugar and almond meal into the bowl of the food processor. Process until smooth.
Lightly toast the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan. Set aside.
When the base is cooked, remove it from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Spread the jam evenly over the base. With the processor motor running, pour the slightly cooled melted butter down the funnel into the other ingredients and process until smooth. Pour it over the jam layer and top with the toasted almonds. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan, over a wire rack. Cut into slices to serve – it’s best warm, but it tastes delicious at room temperature as well.

Makes 16

Upside down pear chocolate cake

I grew up eating my grandmother’s upside down pineapple cake, with prunes or candied cherries placed in the wholes of the pineapple slices. I even made it a couple of times when I started baking. But not until I became a food blogger did I learn that there are several other types of upside down cakes – I was amazed to know that one could bake those using different kinds of fruit! :D

I love learning new things. :)

While summer is away and I cannot bake this beautiful and delicious cherry and nectarine upside down cake – thanks for the inspiration, Jane! – I’ll stick to pears and chocolate. Very wintery and oh, so delicious.

Upside down pear chocolate cake
slightly adapted from the gorgeous Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Fruit topping:
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
3 ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored and each cut into 12 wedges (450g/1 pound prepped)

Cake:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
112g (4oz) dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature

Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan.
Start by making the fruit topping: put the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves lightly. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, just gently swirling the pan around occasionally, until the caramel becomes a dark amber color. Occasionally wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.
Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared cake pan and allow it to harden – be careful when handling the cake pan for it will be very hot from the caramel. Arrange the pears slices on top the caramel.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Make the cake: place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Transfer the melted chocolate and butter to the large bowl of an electric mixer, add the sugar and beat in medium speed until creamy and well mixed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Using a spatula, mix in the dry ingredients alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter over the pears and bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the cake bounces back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then carefully invert the cake onto a plate, leaving the pan on top of the cake for 5 minutes before removing it.
Serve warm with chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream – it is equally delicious at room temperature, on its own.
Cake will keep for up to 3 days wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.

Serves 12-15 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square cake pan and 6 very small pears (called “Ercolini”), halved and cored

Mini blueberry pies with a lattice top and finding solutions to small problems

My sister and I go to the movies on a pretty regular basis and she says that her favorite time of all was when we watched "The Wolfman": the clerk refused to sell her a ticket because she was not old enough to watch the movie (the same movie, on several other theaters, had been rated for people younger than her); it was a Tuesday right after lunchtime and there was no one in the theater; we walked around for a couple of minutes, then came back and bought two tickets for "Tooth Fairy" – but entered “The Wolfman” theater instead (for the record, I only did it because we were the only people in the theater, aside from the clerks). :D

Small problems and simple solutions.

I’d had this recipe bookmarked since the book arrived, a couple of months ago, but the original pie, baked in a large pie plate, called for 5 cups of fresh blueberries; Fresh blueberries are pretty expensive here in Brazil – I really wasn’t in the mood for spending that amount of money in 5 cups of berries. But 2 cups I could definitely afford – so I reduced the recipe and baked it in small tartlet pans.

Small problems and simple solutions. :D

Mini blueberry pies with a lattice top
slightly adapted from the wonderful cooking/baking bible The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Pastry:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup (94g) confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, very chilled and diced
1 ½ tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg yolk (plus 1 more if needed)
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Filling:
5 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons corn starch
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
whipped cream, for serving

Start by making the pastry: combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the mixture is reduces to flakes. Add the lemon zest, 1 egg yolk, and the heavy cream and pulse 5 times – the dough is ready when it comes together when pressed with your fingertips. If necessary, add another egg yolk.
Gather the dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Make the filling: mix together the blueberries, corn starch, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl.
Roll out the large disk of pastry between 2 pieces of lightly floured baking paper. When it is 3mm (1/8-in) thick, remove the top layer of paper and invert the pastry onto a lightly buttered pie dish. Peel off the other piece of paper and, without stretching the dough, press it into the dish. Chill.
Roll out the other disk of dough 3mm (1/8-in) thick. Slice into 1.25cm (½-in) strips. Chill the strips on a baking sheet.
Remove the pie shell from the fridge and pour the berry mixture into it. Arrange the strips of pastry in a lattice pattern on top. Cut the overhang dough to nearly 2cm (¾ in), then roll it up and over the lattice, making a neat rounded border. Crimp the border. Chill the pie while you preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
place the pie plate onto a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the filling bubbles at the edges and the crust is golden brown – if the crust starts to brown too quickly tent the pie with a piece of foil.
Cool the pie on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 8 – I halved the pastry recipe above + 2/5 of the filling recipe, used 9cm tartlet pans and got 5 tartlets (baked for 30 minutes)

White chocolate cupcakes with candied kumquats and a big thank you

Thank you for your book suggestions – you guys are wonderful! I’m about to decide which book I’ll read first and thanks to you I have enough ideas to choose from now and in the months to come.

Since I’m inclined to choose a classic book, I bring you something classic, too: cupcakes. But I mean classic, not plain: the candied kumquats add not only a splash of color but also a delicious and unexpected flavor.

Make sure you use really good white chocolate, because the flavor is absolutely evident, especially in the cakes.

White chocolate cupcakes with candied kumquats
slightly adapted from the always beautiful and so delicious Bon Appetit Desserts

Candied kumquats:
½ cup (120ml) water
½ cup (100g) superfine sugar
12 kumquats, sliced and seeded

Cupcakes:
225g (8oz) high-quality white chocolate, chopped
1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
½ cup (120ml) canned unsweetened coconut milk

Frosting:
125g (4 ½ oz) high-quality white chocolate, chopped
168g (6 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup (35g) icing sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Start by making the candied kumquats: stir water and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add kumquats and return to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until fruit is tender and liquid is syrupy, about 20 minutes. Transfer to bowl; cool to room temperature. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line eighteen 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffin cups with paper liners.
Place white chocolate in metal bowl set over pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth, then remove from heat and cool slightly.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and vanilla in large bowl until blended and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape sides of the bowl. Add the white chocolate to the batter and stir to combine. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with coconut milk in 2 additions, beating batter just to combine between additions.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake until lightly golden and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Make the frosting: stir white chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate. Let cool until thickened to spreadable consistency (refrigerate if necessary).

Assembling: spread frosting over cupcakes. Drain candied kumquats and arrange the kumquat slices decoratively atop cupcakes. (Can be assembled 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Makes 18 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above for I have only one muffin pan (with 12 cavities); I got exact 12 cupcakes