31 posts tagged “cinnamon”
My schedule has been getting worse and worse. I simply don't have time to cook or bake much now. I cannot believe my eyes when I just spotted on the calendar that it is the 27th of the month again! I totally forgot I'm supposed to post my Daring Bakers' Challenge today. So without further ado, here it is: Vols-au-Vent (are you ready to take a bite and go to heaven?)
The September Daring Bakers' challenge has been chosen by Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon. She wanted us to make our own puff pastry in our home kitchens. What a great idea! I've always wanted to make homemade puff pasty and I saved about a dozen different recipes. I finally got to make it this time. I don't know what I would do without this lovely Daring Kitchen.
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
The September Daring Bakers' challenge has been chosen by Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon. She wanted us to make our own puff pastry in our home kitchens. What a great idea! I've always wanted to make homemade puff pasty and I saved about a dozen different recipes. I finally got to make it this time. I don't know what I would do without this lovely Daring Kitchen.
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Since I have made homemade croissants before, I'm not intimidated by the "laminated dough". It was actually really fun making this kind of pastry dough. For the full recipe with detailed instructions, click here.
(Makes 4 servings)
1 jar water-packed artichoke hearts, well drained and chopped
1/2 package Tofutti cream cheese
1/2 package Tofutti sour cream
3 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. capers, well drained and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
I still have some leftover puff pastry in the freezer. I'm looking forward to making another batch very soon.
For more mouth-watering vols-au-vent, check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.
Yes, it's that time of the month again: the reveal date of this month's challenge for Daring Bakers. I can't believe how fast time just flew out of the window. It seemed like yesterday when I made my first batch of marshmallow-filled cookies. But it was actually more than three weeks ago. I still remember how much I enjoyed these treats. I don't make cookies at home often, no, not at all. So I certainly loved and appreciated this opportunity to practise some cookie-making skills and enjoy the results.
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
You can find the original recipes for both the Mallows and the Milan Cookies here. Due to our dietary requirements, I opted to use Isa's Vegan Milanos recipe at the PPK. The recipe worked amazingly. I did have to bake the cookies for one more minute than what the original recipe called for.
For the vegan marshmallow cookies, I made good use of the vegan toasted coconut marshmallows and strawberry marshmallows from Sweet and Sara. The cookie recipe was easy to veganize. I simply used some water to replace the eggs in the recipe.
The main challenge for me this month is to melt the chocolate in the right way. It's an easy task if you do it right and have enough patience. It's not something that you should rush through 10 minutes before your dinner. I had a lot of fun in this challenge.
For more mouthwatering cookies, check out the Daring Bakers blogroll.
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
You can find the original recipes for both the Mallows and the Milan Cookies here. Due to our dietary requirements, I opted to use Isa's Vegan Milanos recipe at the PPK. The recipe worked amazingly. I did have to bake the cookies for one more minute than what the original recipe called for.
For more mouthwatering cookies, check out the Daring Bakers blogroll.
I love strudels, sweet and savory. There is something really fine about the dough and the combination of nuts and sweets and whatever filling you can come up with. I used to use phyllo dough as a shortcut, but this time I got to make my own strudel dough from scratch. How lucky for me to be able to expand my skills a little more! The strudel dough is naturally vegan, so I did not even have to think about subbing anything.
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
For this challenge, I was bold enough to make a savory version (Spinach, Artichoke and Potato Strudel) as well as a sweet version (the classic Apple Strudel). I had a lot of fun with the dough, rolling and hand-stretching. The delicate dough is not so hard to work with as long as you remain patient and give the dough enough time to rest before rolling and stretching. The ideal dough should be paper thin and you should be able to read newspaper underneath.
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
For this challenge, I was bold enough to make a savory version (Spinach, Artichoke and Potato Strudel) as well as a sweet version (the classic Apple Strudel). I had a lot of fun with the dough, rolling and hand-stretching. The delicate dough is not so hard to work with as long as you remain patient and give the dough enough time to rest before rolling and stretching. The ideal dough should be paper thin and you should be able to read newspaper underneath.
Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes
15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool
Apple strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided (I used Earth Balance)
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)
1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.
Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
Tips
- I did not make a double batch like our kind hosts suggested, but I did make a second batch later on. The first time might be a bit trying or scary; but, letting the dough rest at least 2 hours does all of the work for you. When the dough is ready, you will not find the dough pulling back at all while you roll out.
- I used parchment paper instead of table cloth (since I don't have any) with great success.
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves.
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you need to use your whole body. And, the best way is to involve your spouse.
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible. Even rather big ones can be ignored as the dough will be rolled around and around the filling.
- Cooling for 30 minutes before cutting is critical, if you can stand it.
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes
15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided (I used Earth Balance)
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
Tips
- I did not make a double batch like our kind hosts suggested, but I did make a second batch later on. The first time might be a bit trying or scary; but, letting the dough rest at least 2 hours does all of the work for you. When the dough is ready, you will not find the dough pulling back at all while you roll out.
- I used parchment paper instead of table cloth (since I don't have any) with great success.
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves.
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you need to use your whole body. And, the best way is to involve your spouse.
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible. Even rather big ones can be ignored as the dough will be rolled around and around the filling.
- Cooling for 30 minutes before cutting is critical, if you can stand it.
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 10 oz. bag of spinach, chopped
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 red-skinned potatoes, baked and mashed
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance butter
1 15 oz. can water-packed artichokes, well drained and chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 tsp. red curry paste
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
4 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Saute onion and garlic over medium heat for 6-7 minutes until onion gets translucent.
2. Add spinach by batches and cook just until spinach wilts.
3. Add oregano and mix well. Remove from heat.
4. Add all the other ingredients into the pan and thoroughly mix. Set aside.
5. Add the filling and roll the dough just as the apple strudel. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Verdict: This challenge definitely increased my confidence in making future strudels from scratch. In fact, I will probably never use phyllo dough again just for the convenience. The strudel dough is really easy to make once I have made it a couple of times, and it is far from being finicky like the phyllo dough sometimes.
To see more delicious strudels, check out the Daring Bakers blogroll.
To see more delicious strudels, check out the Daring Bakers blogroll.
I still cannot believe that I never thought of making a curry-flavored risotto before. I happen to be on a curry kick now, so I found my hands cooking a yellow curry risotto last night.
Yellow Curry Risotto
(Makes 5-6 servings)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2/3 cup baby carrots, diced
3 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 1/3 cups white jasmine rice or arborio rice
1 16-oz can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 cup warm organic vegetable broth
3 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded
1 1/2 cups snap peas, ends discarded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups hot water
A healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1. Saute onion, garlic, and carrots over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes until the carrots have softened a bit.
2. Add parsley and cook for another minute.
3. Add rice, and mix well until the rice is throughly coated with oil. Cook for a minute or two. Pour in the coconut milk and add curry powder, cumin powder, and garam masala. Mix well and cook until the liquid is pretty much absorbed.
4. Ladle in the warn vegetable broth. Mix well and make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook until most broth has been absorbed.
5. Add in Brussels sprouts and snap peas, as well as one cup of hot water. Again, keep stirring from time to time and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat the same process until all the water has been used up.
6. Remove from heat. Stir in salt and pepper and thoroughly mix. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
I also made my first simple strudel - an apple strudel. Since I have been very fond of phyllo dough recently, I used six sheets of phyllo dough for each strudel. The filling is easy: cored and chopped apples, cinnamon and nutmeg, cooked in butter with brown sugar. Baked for 40 minutes in the oven under 375F degrees. I didn't dust the strudels with powdered sugar on top. I was too eager to dig in. :)
Yellow Curry Risotto
(Makes 5-6 servings)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2/3 cup baby carrots, diced
3 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 1/3 cups white jasmine rice or arborio rice
1 16-oz can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 cup warm organic vegetable broth
3 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded
1 1/2 cups snap peas, ends discarded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups hot water
A healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1. Saute onion, garlic, and carrots over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes until the carrots have softened a bit.
2. Add parsley and cook for another minute.
3. Add rice, and mix well until the rice is throughly coated with oil. Cook for a minute or two. Pour in the coconut milk and add curry powder, cumin powder, and garam masala. Mix well and cook until the liquid is pretty much absorbed.
4. Ladle in the warn vegetable broth. Mix well and make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook until most broth has been absorbed.
5. Add in Brussels sprouts and snap peas, as well as one cup of hot water. Again, keep stirring from time to time and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat the same process until all the water has been used up.
6. Remove from heat. Stir in salt and pepper and thoroughly mix. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
So I suddenly had the idea of cooking some dried chickpeas I have stored for months. I didn't plan in advance so I ended up having a lot of cooked chickpeas, and my husband made it very clear that he didn't want any hummus after all. I dug out a recipe that I saved ages ago - Chickpea Burgers by Carla of "but did they EAT it?" (Note: Carla has already moved her action to her new blog "The Year of the Vegan" and her old blog seems to have been deleted). I might have made a mistake in her recipe. I drained my chickpeas. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. My chickpea burgers came out a bit too dry for our liking. Maybe I should have added some of the chickpea cooking water into the food processor. Oh well, next time I will try it that way. These burgers were tasty but a bit too dry.
I used the rest of the cooked chickpeas to make Purplesque's Chana Masala (Spicy Chickpea Curry). I added some fresh tomatoes and extra-firm tofu cubes. I also used vegan sour cream (we haven't found vegan yogurt locally, yet) instead of yogurt. I am not exactly sure if this would change the flavors significantly, but we loved the dish.
I cannot praise this vegan cake more. The moist and fluffy texture is amazing. The cake smells and tastes rich and velvety. The recipe is from Lolo of VeganYumYum. I had a few bananas getting really ripe and an open tub of Tofutti sour cream. Naturally this cake saved my day. I was only regretting not making a double amount of the recipe. By the way, if you haven't been to Lolo's VeganYumYum, it's high time that you did. Her photos and recipes are just a pleasure to see.
Flickr and Vox just played a practical joke on me. I was trying to add a few Flickr photos into my library, and I encountered an error and got the whole "the world is a very unpredictable place" speech. This only happened once before, in all three years. So it's cook, I thought. I religiously downloaded those photos from my Flickr account and planned to upload them to my Photobucket album. While downloading, I didn't quite give up on Vox/Flickr. I clicked again and again but the same error appeared every time. But guess what? Right after I downloaded all the photos and was ready to upload to Photobucket, the function came back. I was able to add those Flickr photos to my library like nothing ever happened. I guess this is the Sunday spirit of Vox/Flickr.
Enough ranting. I made some awesome sweet bread for a change. I saw this great Mexican Pan Dulce Conchitas recipe on Toxobread two days ago, and I remembered seeing a couple of scrumptious Conchas on Toxobread a few days ago. Sweet yeasted bread, Mexican, cocoa and cinnamon topping, buttermilk soft dough, I was completely sold right there. These sweet chocolate-y soft rolls are a combination of sweet bread and chocolate cookies. It was really fun making them too.
I totally thought the below dough balls were my little babies (before the topping and second rise). It was very easy to veganize these buns. I simply used soymilk with apple cider vinegar as the buttermilk and skipped the two eggs. The resulting dough was extremely soft and smooth, just like what sweet bread should be.
This is the chocolate cinnamon cookie topping looking like a shell. As you can see, I didn't keep up the good shaping work for every roll. The egg yolk in the cookie dough can be just replaced with one teaspoon of water. I used whole wheat pastry flour as well.
These are some wonderful conchas right out of the oven.
One Mexican concha roll ready to be consumed very soon.
In fact, within 5 seconds, this is what it looked like. I know I cannot resist them.
I found a great use for the pumpkin chocolate chip bread I made two days ago - to make part of it into a warm heart-melting bread pudding. I followed this excellent recipe by Ricki of "Diet, Dessert & Dogs". I didn't have any oat flour or rolled oats (sorry, not a big fan for oats), so I used all-purpose flour instead. This is what the pumpkin bread pudding looks like right after being baked.
I stood in front of the stove for more than an hour whisking my soy milk constantly to make one cup of "condensed milk". Then I made the warm caramel sauce. The whole process was about an hour and half. But it was so worth it!
Now, the final product is ready for consumption. Sometimes you just don't want another piece of chocolate cake. This warm bread pudding is totally the way to go. It can really melt your heart, after melting in your mouth.
I haven't started making my sourdough starter yet. The weather has been miserably cold in the past two days so we have allowed ourselves to become comfortably numb indoor. But that grocery shopping trip will happen tomorrow or on Monday. I am really determined now that the weather has come back to the realm of normalcy. I am totally in love with yeast now. It is so weird: I turned from being very languid to being so psyched about bread baking in the course of a mere few days.
Below are my first two loaves of ciabatta made with a sponge starter (poolish). The recipe is by Selina of Vegan Recipes. The texture and flavor are excellent. My hubby even claimed that this ciabatta was the best he has had in years.
Then today, my over-eager baking mood once again took me by surprise. I made a giant loaf of yeasted pumpkin chocolate chip bread (recipe by Ariela of Baking and Books). We couldn't wait for the bread to completely cool down before we stole a piece off the loaf. Good gracious, I haven't had so much fun baking, braiding bread, and enjoying a warm loaf right out of the oven in a while!
