Apron Addict

THE DARING BAKERS' JANUARY, 2012 CHALLENGE: BACK TO BASICS: SCONES (A.K.A. BISCUITS)

2012-01-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Scones Scones and More Scones

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Scones - loved this challenge - have been brought up making scones as many my age in NZ have - they are a staple. One of the first things most of us learned to bake in school cooking lessons too.
Watching the video of the host's lovely sister brought back memories of my chldhood in 1960s NZ - it was just like; watching Mum, watching my aunties, watching my friend's mothers, watching the neighbourhood women "knock up a batch of scones" - probably not PC to say that now.

I know women who are now in their 70s and 80s who make the most wonderful scones and don't even measure anything - I guess decades of practise makes perfect - they are amazing to watch - just shake the flour out of the bag - scoop some butter off the block and they are away - pour the milk in from the bottle/carton - usually cut them into squares or rectangles - glaze them with milk - into a "hot" oven and voila !- an awesome batch of scones.

I tried the challenge basic recipe and also made three others that are tried and true - one especially for people who don't care for "rubbing in".

First batch of challenge Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits) made- turned out pretty well as scones go - nice texture and very light, not a hint of baking powder taste. Well recieved by home tasters

In 2011 there was a TV show screened here in NZ called The Great British Bake Off and in one of the episodes the contestants had to make scones and I took a few notes from the judges - one in particular said - "only egg wash or glaze to the edge of the top - don't let it drip down the sides as this prevents rising or causes uneven rising" - for what it's worth

Healthy Food Guide Scones

These next scones are made from a recipe out of the New Zealand Healthy Food Guide - meant to be a slightly more healthy version of a scone - use margarine, low fat milk and yoghurt. Whether or not they are healthier is a discussion for another day - but why I use this recipe is that the margarine is really easy to rub in and they make a fantastically light scone. I've also used them at school for when I take cooking lessons with my class - they are fail-proof. It is a very wet mixture, I wouldn't even attempt to use a cutter, just a sharp knife. This recipe halves easily. Link to recipe below

NZ Healthy Food Guide Plain Scone Recipe

Griddle - Girdle SconesMy Mum often made "girdle" scones for us to have as morning tea in the weeknd or during school holidays / vacations - good filling food for active kids ! As you don't need an oven they are great for camping etc. If you don't have a griddle an electric frypan does the job. There's a bit of history around gridle / girdle - this posting in Lisa's (Sunday Hotpants) blog tells the story really well (go to Index and look under scones for Girdle Scones). I used her recipe which is a fairly stock standard one for griddle/girdle scones in Zew Zealand.

Girdle Scones
- variation from the Edmonds cookbook.

Note: this is not a sweet scone - the mix is plain, if you like a sweet scone you may add 3 Tblspns sugar in the dry ingredients stage.

1 cup flour
2 tspns baking powder
1 Tblspn of butter
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of currants
aprox 1/2 cup of milk
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl

Cut or rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

Add enough milk to make a soft dough and shape into a circle on a lightly floured board. Roll out to roughly 1.5 cm (1/2 an inch) thick and cut into eight wedges.

Cook on a hot greased girdle, hotplate or frying pan until golden and cooked in the centre - this will be roughly 5 minutes on each side.

Snuggle them up on the girdle arranged in the same way you cut them.

When you turn your scone wedges place them gently on the hot surface and only turn once.
Serve hot from the pan, slathered in your favourite jam.

If You Don't Like Rubbing Butter Into Flour ......these are the scones for you
The recipe is from Dame Alison Holst - a New Zealand cooking icon. It is easily scaled - I made a half recipe but used a little more milk than half.Following is the recipe with a note from her;

My Mother’s Date Scones
No one could make scones better than my mother. They melted in your mouth. Sometimes, over a weekend, she’d make six batches of scones, feeding all and sundry.
2 cups high grade flour (bread flour) – spoon the flour into your measuring cup without packing it
½ tsp salt
2 level Tbsp baking powder
½ cup dates (chopped in half)
50 g butter (melted)
¾ cup milk

1. Sift dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.
2. Add chopped dates.
3. Add milk to melted butter and stir into dry ingredients. Careful not to over-mix. Mixture should be lumpy.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat into a rectangle shape (work with dough as lightly as possible). Should make 6 to 8 good sized scones.
5. Spray oil onto a baking tray. Place scones closely together to the tray and bake at 225°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until tops are golden.

2011-10-25T01:28:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER 2011 CHALLENGE

Povitica

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Here's my version of the Povitica. I filled it with my own homemade lemon curd and currant mixture made as per the walnut filling recipe. It was the quarter quantity recipe and I took the advice of some DB'ers and divided the dough into three and plaited it - hence the appearance of the loaf. It tastes great and even better toasted with butter.

Here is the link for the recipe http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/u11/60_Povitica_-_DB_Oct_2011.pdf

Povitica is also called potica. Another Daring Baker says “ It seems that there are quite a few 'how to' videos on youtube under the name 'potica'! This is my favourite so far, not in English, but very cute:”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i863PMMdtGM&feature=related

Thanks Jenni for a great challenge - everyday ingredients turned into something exotic !

2011-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

THE DARING BAKERS’ SEPTEMBER, 2011 CHALLENGE: FRESH, FLUFFY, FRENCH
Croissants !
The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

Due to one thing and another I got to the challenge pretty late this month.

All went well until the final rise – the one after the cutting and rolling – they just didn’t rise much that time.

However they seemed to cook well, were a lovely flakey and fluffy texture with a crispy crust. I could see the laminations/layers in the cooked dough. They just weren’t very big! Maybe I’ve just got used to the upsized mass produced ones I see in the supermarket. On reflection I’m not sure how big the sample ones were – so maybe these are about right.

Thanks for the challenge Sarah 

2011-08-26T16:29:00.002-07:00

August 2011 Daring Bakers' Challenge:

Candylicious!

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

I made Jo's Fabulous Fudge. It's pretty much never fail and gorgeous to eat.
Jo Seagar is a wonderfully popular New Zealand chef and cook book writer, she also runs a cafe and cook school in the South island of New Zealand. Here is the recipe - "definitely not part of the daily diet - to be made for special occasions only " !!!

I made a half recipe and that makes 30 good sized pieces.

Jo’s Fabulous Fudge
from Jo Seagar Cooks Random House 2006

• 800 g sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups soft brown sugar, firmly packed
• 250 g butter
• 100 ml sugar syrup (liquid glucose or corn syrup)
• 3 tablespoons golden syrup
• 400 g white chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1.
Spray and line with non-stick baking paper, a 20 x 30 cm, quite deep (at least 4 cm) tin, or 2 smaller tins.
2.
Place all ingredients, except the chocolate and vanilla, in a large heavy based saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and boil gently until it becomes very thick and changes colour to a dark caramel brown paper shade – about 6 minutes, to the soft ball stage, 116°C on a sugar thermometer. Stir often to prevent it catching on the bottom – I find a silicon spatula the best gadget to stir with. Remove from heat and stand until the bubbles subside. Stir in the chocolate and vanilla until melted and smooth.
3.
Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Cool to room temperature (about 3 hours) then refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 weeks – if you’re lucky.

Port and Prune Truffles

I made Port and Prune Truffles and dipped them in my attempt at tempered chocolate. The tempering process seemed to go to plan but did not stay shiny after it set. It did snap/crack nicely and tasted good. The filling is not a ganache but instead the prunes are simmered in port and mixed with chocolate cake crumbs and almond flavouring - very easy, quite economical and tastes stunning.

Port and Prune Truffles
from The Australian Women's Weekly Light and Luscious SUMMERTIME Cookbook

These truffles will keep in the refrigerator, covered for several weeks.

½ cup finely chopped prunes
¼ cup port
1 ½ cups cake crumbs, lightly packed
¼ cup slivered almonds, finely chopped
¼ cup cream
¼ teaspoon almond essence

chocolate for tempering

1. Combine prunes and port in a small pan, bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for a few minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed, let cool for about 15 minutes.
2. Then combine prune mixture, cake crumbs, almonds, cream and almond essence together in a bowl, mix well and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. The mixture will be firm but not hard.
3. Shape teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place on a tray and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Prepare chocolate for dipping, line a tray with baking paper or foil, dip the balls into chocolate and place on tray to set.
5. Store in an airtight container

2011-07-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Daring Bakers July 2011 Challenge:

FRESH FRAISIERS!

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

Winter time here in New Zealand so no strawberries therefore kiwifruit it was – what else for a kiwi Daring Baker. I made a chocolate chiffon cake ( just with baking cocoa – not the real thing – hence it is quite light in colour). Flavoured the syrup with coffee liquer.

It turned out really well but maybe I could have cut the kiwifruit slices in half for a more refined look – mine looks very rustic! Tasted devine.

Thanks Jana for the challenge

Recipe is here

THE DARING BAKERS’ JUNE, 2011 CHALLENGE: FROM PHYLLO TO BAKLAVA!!

2011-06-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

Erica of Erica's Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker's June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Never thought I'd be making phyllo pastry - wasn't difficult just fiddly and time consuming. Certainly something you could make very easily as the ingredients are so basic. I was pushed for time on this challenge and my phyllo sheets ended up sticking together after I rolled them despite using plenty of flour but I didn't have time to redo it. So although I layered the filling twice it's not a pretty picture.

Can't use nuts so made a filling of pumpkin seeds (pepitas), glace cherries, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon and allspice - yum!

Thanks to Erica for the challenge :)

2011-05-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

THE DARING BAKER'S MAY CHALLENGE

MARQUISE ON MERINGUE

The May 2011 Daring Baker's challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of PurpleHouseDirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Here is my version of the challenge.

I made the 1/4 recipe and set my marquise in a loaf tin - made it easy to slice off like a terrine, also made almond brittle instead of the spiced almonds.

2011-04-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

THE DARING BAKERS’ APRIL 2011 CHALLENGE:

MAPLE MOUSSE SERVED IN AN EDIBLE CONTAINER

Here’s my take on this month’s challenge. I nearly didn’t do the challenge this month due to shifting house at the very end of March, having no instructions left with the oven in the new house and the general chaos that accompanies a house move. But find it hard to let a chance to bake go by!

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container.
After a bit of thought I decided to make mini-pavlovas to contain the maple mousse. Both turned out fine but was a bit disappointed with the presentation – because I usually bake at night I didn’t put the mousse into the pavs until the next day – the mousse had set beautifully in the bowl but didn’t look so great spooned into the pavs.
It was also a very sweet combination and can appreciate the idea for having a savoury container

The mousse is a great recipe and thanks Evelyne for the challenge :)

2011-02-27T01:26:00.001-08:00

THE DARING BAKERS FEBRUARY 2011 CHALLENGE: Here's to a Creamy Dreamy Crunchy Sweet February!

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Here’s my effort – Giada’s Vanilla Panna Cotta, Nestle Florentine Cookies with Watermelon Sorbet. We have recently been on a big trip (for us from New Zealand) to London – our grown up kids for Christmas had booked for us to visit two Gordon Ramsay restaurants in London and on both occasions we had panna cotta with watermelon sorbet – delicious – my inspiration for making the sorbet and of course watermelons are in abundant supply down here just now.

My Panna Cotta was very soft, I think due to the gelatine ( Davis brand– very limited range down here and no setting data on packet ) – when I make again I will increase the amount a little. But the texture was otherwise very smooth, tasted a little sweet for me though.

The Nestle Florentine Cookies turned out quite big and I certainly didn’t get the 2 ½ - 3 dozen stated in the recipe, also I used golden syrup in place of dark corn syrup. Also delicious but quite sweet.

I found the watermelon sorbet recipe on line and had fun making it – it teamed well with the quite rich Panna Cotta – our cream in New Zealand is really creamy.

I enjoyed this challenge – it wasn’t too complicated and I produced 3 things that I will most definitely make again and again either together or separately – thanks Mallory.

Download the printable .pdf of the challenge HERE!

A slide show of other Daring Bakers results can be seen here http://thedaringkitchen.com/

Daring Bakers' January 2011 Challenge

2011-01-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Biscuit Jaconde Imprime/Entrement

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

This was all very new to me and a challenge - a challenge because at the moment I'm in a really busy phase, we have our house on the market - so it needs to be in a pristine state of tideness and decor perfection most of the time !!! Additionally I'm just starting back at work after a six week summer break, am busy preparing for the new school year and having professional development days. I almost opted out from this challenge but seeing I had last month thought I'd really challenge myself to achieve it.

The filling is a blackforest mousse - chocolate mousse made from scratch with cherries macerated in Grand Marnier, topped with whipped cream, fresh cherries and chocolate shavings - I used left over jaconde to make the base.

Haven't been able to upload other photos but will try again later :(

2010-11-28T01:35:00.000-08:00

NOVEMBER 2010 DARING BAKER CHALLENGE: CROSTATA!

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Short and Sweet

Am a short on time this month but this turned out sweet ! Fortunately the challenge is something I’ve made many of over time. I also watched my Mum make them time and time again – they were only ever called pies or tarts, but came in all flavours, sizes and varieties, with lattices and lids.
My in-house tasters report this was delicious.

2010-10-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE:

Let's Go Nuts for Doughnuts

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge the Daring Bakers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious -recipes here

Wow - this was really good fun. I made the first recipe by Alton Brown and made doughnuts with and without a hole. The dough really rose up as you can see and I took the advice of another experienced Daring Baker and added very little extra flour throughout the rolling and resting process. The dough is certainly silky !

I made sure the oil for deep frying (Alfa One Rice Bran ) was heated to the correct temperature and the doughnuts cooked so quickly - could only manage one in the pan at a time. Some Daring Bakers were concerned about frying and greasiness, I can honestly say that this recipe cooked in Rice Bran Oil is not in the least fatty or greasy - the crust is very thin and light.

I coated the ring doughnuts with cinamon sugar (1/2 cup caster sugar + 1 Tbs cinnamon).

The whole (round) doughnuts were injected with strawberry jam (preserve) and dusted with icing sugar (confectioner's, powdered).

This challenge was great ( thanks Lori)- it's really interesting making something at home that you have only ever tasted the commercial version of. I've been thinking about that a lot lately - of course most things were home baked before they were ever commercially produced but so often your first experiences of a product is the mass produced variety - I'm thinking especially about icecream - how delicious home-made is and doesn't have all those emulsifiers and additives - guess the same goes for doughnuts.

Look for other Daring Bakers' efforts here !

Daring Baker's September 2010

2010-09-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

Get Creative!
The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

The theme was “September”. It may have been back to school; the start of Spring or Autumn/Fall depending where we are in the world; September could also be someone special’s birthday or even the beginning of our favourite sporting season. Whatever happens in our life in September, that’s what our cookies had to be about.

September is Springtime in New Zealand, so I purchased a couple of flower cookie cutters and set about making flower themed sugar cookies. Piping is something I’ve not done much of and it is definitely a challenge for me – guess it’s one of those things where practice makes perfect and patience is an asset.

Sugar cookies aren’t really that big of a thing in New Zealand, mostly seen at Christmas time. I think they are starting to be more popular. Early on in the challenge someone posted a link to a site called University of Cookie http://www.universityofcookie.com/ , which is amazing but made me feel pretty overwhelmed! I can see that this is a real big deal in the U.S and when I have more time I will watch the video tutorials on that site, there is also a stream on flickr.com where there are literally thousands of photos of the most amazing decorated sugar cookies – stumbled across it and now can’t find it again.

These are my attempts at decorated sugar cookies – I learned that it is best to tint/colour all the royal icing before thickening or thinning it to get a consistent colour – hence my two tone pink flower cookies.!

2010-09-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

SPCA CUPCAKE DAY
Monday 30 August was New Zealand's annual SPCA CUPCKAKE DAY - the day when people in their workplace or school or neighbourhood bake and sell cupcakes to fundraise for the SPCA ( Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ).
I co-ordinated the day in the school where I work, we had a fantastic day with over 500 cupcakes donated by students and parents - we sold them to the students at morning tea and lunchtime and were able to send off a donation to the SPCA for NZ$541. Here are some of the wondefully decorated cupcakes.

2010-08-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

AUGUST 2010 DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE

~ Nutty and toasty meets cool and creamy...

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

This was my first Daring Bakers challenge. I decided to make both the Baked Alaska and the Petit Fours, so after doing the calculations I made one quantity of the Brown Butter Pound Cake and the Vanilla Icecream and was able to make 10 Petit Fours and two Baked Alaskas .

There was quite a lot of process and freezing time required in this recipe so I made the cake (froze it) and icecream one weekend and then did the assembling the next weekend.

As this was my first challenge I stayed with the recipes given by Elissa and they worked out perfectly. It's easy to make icecream without an icecream maker, just requires being around to do the stirring every 30 minutes.

Since reading other daring bakers' blogs for this challenge I've realised that I probably should have taken more photos of the baking process to post with the recipe - next time

The Baked Alaska served

The Petit Fours served

Check out the Daring Bakers site to see some of the other DBs creations and download the recipes.

2010-08-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

It's winter down here in New Zealand, just the weather for enjoying the all time favourite comfort food - fruit crumble. I've been making this recipe a lot lately and have also substituted tamarillos for the rhubarb. The recipe is from Al Brown and was in the New Zealand Cuisine magazine - issue 141 July 2010.

Rhubarb & Date Crumble
Serves 6-8

For the rhubarb

600g rhubarb, cut in 2cm pieces
3 large apples, peeled, cored and cut in 2cm pieces
½ cup apple juice
1 cup pitted dates, halved
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, mix together and place on medium – high heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the fruit just starts to break down. Pour into your favourite ovenproof dish. The fruit should be 3cm – 4cm deep in the base.

For the crumble

¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup soft brown sugar
¾ cup flour
1 cup roasted unsalted macadamias, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
100g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
300 ml cream, whipped to soft peaks

Place all the ingredients except the cream in a large mixing bowl. Rub together by hand until the mixture begins to come together, but is still quite course. There should be no visible chunks of butter. Spoon the crumble evenly over the rhubarb mix then refrigerate until required.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC then bake the crumble for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden and crisp. Dish out the crumble into bowls and serve with lashings of whipped cream.

Enjoy !

2010-07-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hummingbird Bakery Coffee Cake

I have never made such a big cake before - 8 eggs ! this makes a really big cake - great for a special occasion. I made this cake for a work colleague's birthday morning tea and all who had a piece said it was delicious ( those who were dieting that week don't know what they missed!) I have also made a half recipe and still got a really good sized cake for my family cake tin.

Notes - thoughts:

If you are going to make this cake regularly make up a big quantity of the coffee essence and store it - it will speed things up at the beginning of the recipe
Chocolate covered coffee beans make a nice decoration too.

Hummingbird Bakery

Coffee Cake

2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
450 g unsalted butter
450 g caster sugar
8 eggs
450 g plain flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder – plus extra to decorate
1 quantity Hummingbird Vanilla Frosting
60 g dark chocolate – grated into shavings to decorate
Coffee beans to decorate (optional)
A 25 -26cm ring mould – greased and dusted with flour

Firstly make coffee essence by putting coffee granules and 170mls water in a small saucepan, bring to boil over medium heat. Boil until reduced by half and remove from heat and leave to cool completely. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the essence to use in the frosting.
Preheat the oven to 170º (325ºF) Gas 3.
In a freestanding mixer using a paddle attachment beat butter, sugar and coffee essence until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition.
Beat in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder until everything is combined and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Pour into ring mould and smooth surface.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until sponge feels firm to touch. (Do not open the oven up until the 40 mins or the cake will sink).
Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the Hummingbird Vanilla frosting (recipe below) incorporating the reserved tablespoon of coffee essence at end of step 1.
When the cake is cold put on a serving plate, cover the top with frosting, dust lightly with a sprinkling of cocoa powder and decorate with the chocolate shavings and coffee beans, if using.

Hummingbird Vanilla Frosting

250 g icing sugar, sifted
80g unsalted butter
25 ml whole milk
a couple of drops of vanilla extract

Beat icing sugar and butter together in freestanding mixer on medium slow speed until the mixture comes together.
Turn the mixer down to slow speed and add the milk (and vanilla essence previously mixed) gradually.
Once all the milk has been incorporated turn the mixture up to high speed.
Beat for at least 5 minutes until fluffy and light.

2010-07-18T02:43:00.001-07:00

Peanut Butter Cookies.

More from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. These have become a real favourite at our place. I get 32 good sized cookies from this mixture - original recipe says 24.

Recipe

225g unsalted butter (but salted works well)
200g caster sugar
200g light soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
240g cruncy peanut butter
340g plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
75g dark chocolate chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170c/325f/gas 3. Grease and line a few baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugars in a freestanding electric mixer (or use a handheld electric whisk) until light and fluffy.
3.Add the eggs one at a time, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Turn the mixer down to low, and add the peanut butter and vanilla extract.
4. Then add the dry ingredients, flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and mix until the dough is smooth. Stir in the chocolate until it’s evenly mixed.
5. Arrange 6-8 equal amounts on each baking tray, leaving spaces between them, as these cookies spread out.
6.Bake for 10 -12 minutes, or just until they start to turn golden at the edges and cracked in the middle. If they feel soft in the middle, still take them out, as they continue cooking after being taken out of the oven and this makes them perfect and chewy after they’ve cooled.
7.Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Store in an airtight container.

2010-07-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased the hummingbird bakery cookbook- Tarek Malouf and The Hummingbird Bakers and am having fun trying out the recipes. Here's my version of double chocolate cookies. My tasters tell me they are great - chocolatey, chewy and delicious!

Below is the original recipe, but I used half dark chocolate and half white chocolate - used the white chocolate to stir in at the end. Also I got 24 good sized cookies from the recipe - guess 12 would be really big ones!

Double Chocolate Cookies

Makes 12

50g unsalted butter

450g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

2 eggs

170g soft light brown sugar or light muscovado sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

85g plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

2 baking trays, lined with greaseproof paper

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3.

Put the butter and half the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave until melted and smooth.

Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well mixed. Pour in the chocolate mixture, beating on slow speed until well combined.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a separate bowl, then stir into the chocolate mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each addition (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Finally, stir in the remaining chocolate until evenly dispersed.

Arrange 6 equal amounts of cookie dough on each prepared baking tray. Make sure that the cookies are spaced apart to allow for spreading while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, checking regularly after 10 minutes. They are ready when the tops start to crack and look glossy. Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

2010-07-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

On holiday, a bit of time on my hands, time on the net, stumbled upon The Daring Kitchen and want to join. Seems like I will need a blog.
I have baked since I was 10, started my first recipe book then too. In my childhood I was surrounded by people who baked, made puddings and desserts - it was just a part of our lives growing up in the 60s, my Mum baked, my aunties baked and the women in our street baked. It was a necessity.I spent hours watching my mother cook and bake - I didn't always participate, ingredients were precious - disasters weren't an option. But I watched and watched and watched, absorbed techniques I didn't know were sinking in.
Fast forward to adult me, it took a while to realise that although I loved to cook the sweet delights were my passion to produce, baking cakes, biscuits(cookies), muffins, scones, loaves, desserts and sweet treats. I have bought way too many cooking books in my time - my habit is to always go to the back half of the book and see what is in the dessert and baking sections and then decide if i'll purchase or not.
When I travel I always linger outside cake shops and peruse the local fare, find the cook/ chef supply shops and I'm happy ! Also love the history of baking.
Baking is my hobby - problem being that there's little left to show for it after the latest offering has been consumed and enjoyed. Artists, sewers, quilters and gardeners have proof of time spent - so thanks to the digital camera and the net here's my record of time well spent.