Braided Cinnamon Bread from foreign lands.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl stir fresh yeast with sugar. Stir in the lukewarm milk and then add the egg yolk and melted butter.

I’m obsessed with make homemade store-bought cookies.  And when you make Vanilla wafers, you have to make some kind of pudding to go with them.  So I dug down deep and though about the fanciest thing I could do with pudding and vanilla wafers.  Unfortunately there were no bananas.

INGREDIENTS

Pudding
2 ½ cups half-and-half
⅔ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Wafers
1 cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1/2 of a fresh vanilla bean
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/3 cups flour

DIRECTIONS

Pudding
Put 2 cups of half-and-half or milk, sugar and salt in a small or medium saucepot over medium-low heat. If using a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into milk or half-and-half using small sharp knife, then add pod. Cook just until mixture begins to steam.

Combine cornstarch and remaining milk or half-and-half in a bowl and blend; there should be no lumps. Remove pod from pot and discard. Add cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in butter and vanilla extract.

Pour mixture into a bowl and put plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent formation of a skin. Refrigerate until chilled until

Wafers
Heat oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a large bowl, combine sugar and vanilla been seeds, rubbing them together so that the abrasion from the sugar granules helps release the maximum vanilla flavor. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat to combine. Sprinkle baking powder and salt over batter, beat to combine.  Add flour and once again, beat just to combine.

Once the wafers are cooled line a glass bowl lined with plastic wrap with wafers.  Leave a little room a the top. Fill with pudding and then put a layer of wafers over the top (this will later be the bottom).  Cover with lid or plastic wrap to refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, flip out onto a dish.  Serve with whipped cream.

I got the idea from this recipe.

But got the pudding recipe from here.

I didn’t feel like going to the store on a cold, Los Angeles morning, so I made these Raspberry Jam Doughnuts

INGREDIENTS

Doughnuts

2 1/4 tablespoons yeast

1 cup warm water

zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon brandy

1 1/2 tablespoons oil

1 egg

3 cups flour

Jam

2 cups raspberries

2 cups sugar

juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS

Make the Jam by boiling 1/2 cup water and raspberries in a small pot on medium heat.  Brin to a boil and mash fruit.  Add sugar and let boil for about 5 minutes more.  Test the jam to see if it has set.  Put in the refrigerator to cool.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.  Cover bowl tightly and place it in a larger bowl with some warm water in it.  Let rise for one hour.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about  3/4″ thick. Use a 2-3″ glass rim to cut out donuts.  Keep them as close as possible so you don’t waste dough. I made 9. Cover with tea towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.  Heat a large pot with about 3″ of neutral oil to 360 degrees.  Drop in doughnuts (two at a time) into oil and cook 1 minute on each side until all donuts are fried.  Let them cool on a rack with paper towel underneath for a few minutes and then use a pastry bag with tip to fill doughnuts. Jam will be a little runny so don’t let it drip out of the bag.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Worth posting again.  These go out to my friend Jason.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup yogurt

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking large sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat yogurt, butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and extracts and blend again. Add flour mixture and beat just until flour disappears. In some cases, this dough will feel too soft to roll into balls in your hands; if so, let it chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so before using.

Use a small ice cream scoop to make balls of dough and roll them briefly in the palms of your hands before dropping them in a bowl of rainbow sprinkles and gently rolling to coat them evenly.

Transfer balls of sprinkle-coated dough to baking sheets at least two inches apart. Use the palm of your hand to press down on the cookies until they are about 1/4 to 1/2-inch tall. If you see any bare spots in the sprinkles that bother you, you can sprinkle a few more on top. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until they look underbaked but lightly golden underneath. [If they’re not quite soft in the center, they will be fully crisped through the next day. Let set on the baking sheet on a rack for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup of butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies

½ cup of pure pumpkin

¼ cup of molasses

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ⅓ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoons milk (maybe more or less, depends on desired thickness)

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make glaze by whisking all ingredients adding milk slowly until desired thickness is achieved. Dip cooled cookies into glaze and let set.

My first attempt at truffles. As always, my decorating skills need work but they taste good. 

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries 

8 ounces milk chocolate for melting

Sea Salt for topping

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate  until no streaks remain. Stir in cherries. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls. Freeze for 1 hour. 

Melt milk chocolate and dip frozen balls in chocolate.  Place on wax paper to harden.  Refrigerate.

#MakeAmericaBakeAgain

INGREDIENTS

½ oz. dry active yeast

1 cup warm, but not hot, water

3 cups flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup mixed dried fruit,(golden raisins, cherries and dates, chopped)

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup American whiskey, bourbon or rye

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon fine salt

½ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a medium bowl. Stir a few times and let stand to allow the yeast to dissolve and begin bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Sift 1½ cups of the flour into the bowl and stir until mostly smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes. The mixture will expand, loosen in texture and will have large bubbles on the surface. 


While that sits, generously butter a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside. Place the dried fruit, 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and all of the whiskey in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Heat in the microwave until hot and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour with the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. 


Beat the butter with the remaining 1/2 cup brown and the granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined (the mixture may look slightly curdled at this stage), and then add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat in the yeast mixture and then reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the plumped dried fruit with any remaining liquid and beat on medium speed until the fruit is well blended. The dough should be soft and elastic at this point.

Transfer the dough to the prepared Bundt pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until the dough fills the pan about three-quarters of the way, about 2 hours. When is the cake is almost done rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake the cake until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and turn onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Before serving, stir the confectioners’ sugar with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk. Gradually add as much as needed of the second tablespoon of milk to make a thick glaze that will just gently run. Spoon over the top of the cake, allowing the glaze to slowly run down the outside and inside of the cake.

I got the recipe here.

November is the beginning of the holiday and baking season.  I don’t make a lot of pumpkin stuff, but I might this year.

INGREDIENTS

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup melted butter

3 large eggs

1 2/3  cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heaped 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Heaped 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Two pinches of ground cloves

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

TOPPING

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan or coat it with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, melted butter, eggs and sugar until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinanmon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves over batter and whisk until well-combined. Add flour and stir with a spoon, just until mixed. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth the top. In a small dish, or empty measuring cup, stir sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over top of batter.

Bake bread for 65 to 75 minutes until a tester poked into all parts of cake (both the top and center will want to hide pockets of uncooked batter) come out batter-free, turning the cake once during the baking time for even coloring.

Let it cool for about 30 minutes in the pan and then let it finish on a rack but try not to pick off the topping.

I got the recipe here.