Prepare the stock syrup. In a sauce pan, boil the water + sugar. Remove from heat.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water
Heat up the stock syrup and add the softened gelatine. Mix well.
Add the raspberry puree to the pan, whisk for 30sec, remove from heat and let it cool down.
Pour the glaze into the base of the plastic moulds.
Put in the fridge.
Ingredients for bavarois cream filling:
125g raspberry puree
50ml milk
2 egg yolks
15g caster sugar
1.5 gelatine leaves
75ml double cream
Process:
Heat lightly the raspberry and milk in a saucepan
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar
Pour the boiling milk into the egg mix and whisk well.
Return the mix to the heat and stir for a minute or less. Doesnt have to thicken up!
Add the gelatine, mix well.
Remove from heat and sieve the mix, leave it to cool down.
Whisk the cream to soft picks
Fold the soft picks into the raspberry cream.
Pour the cream into the moulds and put back in the bridge for 30 minutes.
Presentation. Take the moulds from the bridge, to unmould, put the moulds into hot water for a couple of seconds. Then with a sharp knife, make a cut on the base of the mould. Decorate with some mint leaves, cream and fresh red berries.
This is a enriched dough that I tried some time ago but I wanted to test again. I find this kind of dough quite challenge as it is very messy kneading by hand, but, this time, somehow I managed to get a dough that was smooth, glossy and elastic! It took 45m aprox I think. This is a video to give an idea (although it uses a hand mixer…. I can’t find one with kneading by hand.)
Ingredients for dough
275 strong white flour
6g salt
30g caster sugar
2 medium eggs (75g)
100g milk
4g dry yeast (8g if fresh)
100g butter
Ingredients for filling:
100g dark chocolate
50g butter
1 egg
50g caster sugar
15g cocoa powder
eggs wash + flour for dusting
Ingredients for sugar glaze:
100g sugar
80g water
Process:
Put all ingredients apart from butter in a bowl. Mix all until combined
Tip the dough into a table, without flour, using a scraper with one hand and kneading with the other for 5 minutes. Very important, use one hand for kneading so at least one hand is “clean” and it uses the scrapper. Let the dough rest for 1 minute.
Add 1/3 of butter each time and knead until fully combined all butter. This can take a LONG time if doing by hand. I used constantly the scrapper because it was very messy and sticky the dough. Be patience and dont use flour, the dough, surprisingly will start forming gluten because the kneading and will be smooth and stop being so sticky.
Once the dough is smooth, glossy and elastic, put it in a bowl and let it prove until double in size. Cover it during that time.
Knock the dough and put back into the bowl and keep it in the fridge overnight.
Next day
Prepare two tins of 20-25cm long. Line them with baking paper.
Remove dough from the bridge. Place it in a lightly floured surface.
Prepare the chocolate filling. Melt the butter and chocolate at “bain marie”
In another bowl, mix egg, sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk until you get a smooth paste.
Add melted chocolate to the paste. Whisk until well combined. Keep in mind you will have to “spread” this mix in the dough, so you dont want something two “hard”.
With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle of aprox 40x45cm.
Spread the chocolate mix evenly over the dough. Leave 1-2 cm free in the edge nearest to you as we will seal the dough there.
Start rolling the dough from the farthest edge from you. Create a tight roll, moving towards you. The seal of the dough should be under side and the smooth side facing up.
Dust lightly the top of your dough and with a sharp knife, cut the dough in half lengthways to show the inner layers
Each half will be a babka. Form a U shape with each one. Staring with the right side, bring this over the left and place down, then repeat, bringing the right side over the left to form a basic plait.
Place each babka into a tin and let it prove for 1h (ie: put in a oven with ligh on and some boiling water to make humid)
Preheat the oven at 180C.
Eggwash the babkas and bake for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Prepare the sugar glaze. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan at medium heat. Stir until sugar is disolved. Bring the mix to the boil, leave it to simmer for a couple of minutes until thickens a bit. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.
Remove the babkas from oven and brush with sugar glaze. This is very important to make the babka moist inside.
Let is cool down in the tin.
In general I was quite happy with the result.
Some improvements/mistakes:
My sacket of yeast was already open so I think it “lost” it strength because my dough and babka didnt really prove….
My chocolate spread was a bit too hard and couldnt spread properly, maybe adding a bit more egg to make it a bit more runny?
These are two recipes that wanted to do for some time but never had the chance. And now this week, both in one day. Go figure 🙂
Bread Pudding Ingredients:
250ml milk
300ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
3 tbsp caster sugar
8 slices aprox of stale bread (white bread or even better brioche!!!)
50gr slightly salted butter, softened (need to spread it) + extra for greasing
75g sultanas, currants or any other dried fruit
zest 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp demenara sugar
Process:
Add the lemon zest to the dried fruit.
Make the custard. Heat the milk, cream and vanilla in a sauce pan, just below boiling point!
In parallel, whisk the eggs, yolk and sugar.
Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mix, whisking constantly.
Lightly grease with butter an ovenproof dish.
Cut the crusts from the bread slices (if using white bread), then butter both sides of the bread and cut in triangles.
Deep the bread slices in the custard and spread them in the dish. Add some dried fruit between layers.
Pour more custard once you assembled all layers. Be sure it doesnt overflow!
Finish it with last layer of dried fruit and some demenara sugar.
Leave to soak for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Pre-heat oven at 180C
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and puffed-up.
Let it cool down and then you can slice it. You can present it with a bit of dust sugar on top and a touch of mint leaves. Use some leftover custard to serve!
Apple Crumble Ingredients:
500gr aprox green apples, peeled, cored and sliced in aprox 1cm thick.
1/2 lemon juice + 2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp caster sugar for cooking apples
2 tbsp cinnamon for cooking apples
175g plain flour
110g golden caster sugar
110g cold butter
pinch of salt
1 tbsp oats
1 tbsp demenara sugar
Process:
Pre-heat oven at 180C.
Toss the sliced apples into a bowl with the 2 tbsp sugar and lemon juice in a bowl with water so they dont get brown.
In another bowl, mix flour and sugar. Then rub the butter in the flour with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl and check there are no big bits in the surface
In a sauce pan, add the apples (drained), sugar and cinnamon. Fry until golden and bit soft. Remove from heat
Add apples into an ovenproof dish.
Pour the crumb mix on top of the apples. Dont over press, use a fork to spread out.
Sprinkle the oats and demenara sugar on top.
Bake for 35-40m, until top is golden and bubbly! Use a wooden stick to check the apples are soft before removing from oven.
Leave to cool down 10 minutes.
You can use some strawberries and mint for presentation. Plus some custard from earlier recipe.
All very tasty! The bread pudding was very tasty the day after. As well, some years ago I tried bread pudding and it was quite different from this one so I will try another recipe another day. It makes a difference the use of brioche 🙂 And somehow, it reminds me to the “pizza venetta”.
The apple crumble was good too. And you can use any fruit to be honest, so it is super flexible.
In general, these two recipes are super easy and quick. So no excuse to try them more often.
This is nothing new. I make rosquillas each year for Easter to bring back some good memories and keep a personal tradition. I notice that each year I look for a recipe but always follow the same one I saved in my laptop many years ago and I want to celebrate that recipe. The site doesnt exist anymore but at least give it the honors anyway.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
100g sugar
80ml milk
80ml olive oil
50ml anise liquor or sambuca.
peel of 1 lemon
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
350-400g plain flour
500ml olive oil for frying + plus a bit more for dipping your fingers.
A plate with sugar to coat the rosquillas
A plate with a fine layer of white wine to dip the rosquillas
A plate with kitchen paper to dry the rosquillas after frying.
Process:
Add the olive oil to a frying pan at medium-low heat. Add the lemon peel. I use a small frying plan, that fits two rosquillas. So I dont use all oil at once. I refill the frying pan during the process.
Whisk eggs and sugar until well combine in a big bowl.
Keep whisking and add bit by bit the milk, olive oil and anise to the eggs mix.
Add bicarbonate to the flour, and add 300gr aprox to the wet mix. You will have to use a wooden spoon to keep mixing.
The dough should be a bit sticky and soft but fully combined. I think I used aprox 375g of flour.
Let it rest.
Put the frying pan at medium heat. Be sure you have all plates ready (sugar, white wine, kitchen paper)
Once you think the oil is hot enough for frying, remove the lemon peel (should be crunchy and not burnt!!!)
Dip your fingertips in a bit of olive oil, take a bit of dough, like a small meat ball. Make a ball with your hands, then with one finger make a hole and turn the dough like a gymnastic with a hoop.
First time, just fry one rosquilla and see how it goes. You want to be sure the oil is in the correct temperature. If it is too hot, the rosquilla will get brown too quick and the center will not cook. If it is cold, the rosquilla will absorve too much oil.
Once one side is fried, turn it. Once both sides are equal, remove from the pan and let it dry with the kitchen paper. The rosquilla should have double the size!!!
Now, add two rosquillas to the frying pan.
Take the dried rosquilla, dip it both side with a bit of white wine (you may hear a sizzle – that’s good, the rosquilla is still hot) and then coat the rosquilla with sugar. Not too much. Then put it in a plate. Although this is quick, keep an eye on the rosquillas on the frying pan.
Repeat the process, remove the rosquillas from the pan, let them dry a bit the excess of oil, add two more to the pan, and dip/coat.
You may have to refill the oil in the pan, that’s ok. You want the oil to cover the rosquilla when you add it. The rosquilla will grow that’s expected.
Once all done, let the oil to cool down. You can keep it in an oil tin and reuse another day.
I put the rosquillas in a biscuit box. After trying a couple of them
This recipe can produce 17-18 rosquillas depending on size.
This is the result!
And to be honest, the next day, they were better and still soft!
I wasn’t fan of this pastry until some time ago that I tasted it at this bakery. Since then I wanted to try so last weekend was finally the time. I used this video as inspiration (recipe) I used my typical croissant dough, pastry cream and soaked the raising as the bakery mentions.
Pain aux Raisins Ingredints:
1 or 2 bags of your favourite tea
200g or raisins, sultanas and mixed fruit
Bloody orange marmelade
Splash of spirit (scotch, rum, etc) – optional
1 egg for egg wash.
Process:
Boil 500ml of water. Put the tea bags and dry fruit on it. Optional add the spirit.
Remove tea bag after a couple of minutes.
Let it soak for 1h.
** Do this when doing the croissant folds
Filter the liquid (you can drink it) and let the fruit to dry at room temperature
Pastry Cream Ingredients:
500ml milk
2 eggs
4 yolks
125g sugar
75g plain flour
50g butter
1 ts vanilla paste
pinch of salt
glass sugar to cover the cream
Process:
In a pan, put the milk to boil. Add a bit of sugar and dont stir it!
In a bowl, mix eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla. Then Add flour. Mix all well. Add a pinch of salt.
Just when the milk starts boiling, remove from the heat, and pour it bit a bit in the egg mix.
Return the mix to the pan, and dont stop stirring, this is the key for cooking the flour!
Keep stirring until the mix thickes up. You should see bubbles forming up.
Remove from the heat and add the butter. Mix until all combined.
Spread the cream in a clean tray, spread sugar on top so a crust doesnt form.
Cover with cling film and put into the fridge.
** you can do this the day before or while doing the croissant folds.
Croissant Dough Ingredients:
500g strong white flour
12g fine sea salt
55g sugar
40g soft butter
15g dried yeast
140ml cold water
140mg milk
250g butter block – unsalted if possible.
Croissant Dough Process:
Put flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix all together
Add the butter and crumb it with your fingers until all is mixed.
In a another bowl, mix water, milk and dried yeast.
Make a well in the center of the flour mix and add the liquid. Mix all until all is combined. Dont over do it.
Cover the bowl and put in the bridge for 8-12 hours.
Make an envelope of 20x20cm aprox with baking paper. Put the butter block inside and pounce the butter until it fills the paper with a rolling pin. You should have a nice thin flat block of butter. Put the envelope back in the fridge
Take the dough out of the bridge and place it on a lightly floured surface.
Roll it out to for a rectangle double of your butter blocker.
Place the butter in the center and then cover it with the rest of the dough.
Tap the dough gently with the rolling pin to help to seal the sides.
With the seam running top to bottom, roll the dough out into a rectangular shape, roughly 1/2 rolling wide, 1 1/4 rolling pin long (rolling pin aprox 50cm).
Brush any flour and fold the dough in thirds. Tap the dough with the rolling pin. Repeat the same process: roll the dough 1/2 rolling wide, 1 1/4 long and fold. This is a full fold.
Wrap the dough in baking paper and cling film. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take the dough and give it half fold, so only roll and fold once instead of twice. Rest for another 30 minutes in the fridge wrapped in baking paper and cling film.
Apply the last half fold and put back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take the cream pastry cream from the fridge and give it a whisk until becomes manageable, like a cream and not solid as we will have to spread it over the dough.
Take the dough out of the fridge. In a lightly floured surface, roll it 3/4 pin wide and 1 1/4 long.
Spread the pastry cream with a spatula evenly on top of the dough.
Spread the raisins, sultanas, etc on top.
Roll the dough as like making a giant cigar or pipe line.
Get ready two trays with baking paper.
Slide the dough roll with a sharp knife. Clean it after each cut. Put each slide into the trays. I managed 16 slides plus two leftovers.
Seal putting the seam underneath each slide.
Egg wash all slides.
Turn the lights from the oven, put the two trays on it and add a small bowl of boiling water. We want to create a proving room.
Let it raise for 1h, check it and be sure they dont over proof
Pre-heat the oven at 180C-190C.
Egg wash again all slides.
Put one tray in the oven and add some splash of water to create steam.
Bake for 20m aprox or until all golden on top
Remove and add second tray.
In a small bowl, add 3-4 tsp of bloody orange mermelade and boiling water so it gets thinner and more liquid.
Brush the pastries with the mermelade as soon as you take them from the oven.
This is the result!
To be honest, for being the first time, I was quite happy with the outcome.
Room for improvement:
1- I think I put too much pastry cream
2- I think I over proof them (2h in the oven!) as the pastry wasn’t really crunchy.
3- A bit mor fruit?
4- Pastry cream had only 3 egg yolks. I should try 4 and use full fat milk.
This is a typical Southern Portugal cake that I tried two Christmas and quite liked as looks simple and tasty. So finally this weekend was the time to try this recipe.
Ingredients:
2 medium eggs
100g sugar
100g honey
75ml olive oil
150g plain flour
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs baking powder
1/2 ground anise grains.
A bit of butter
Process:
Pre-heat oven at 180C
Whisk eggs and sugar until double in volume. It takes time doing it by hand!
Add honey and oil, bit a bit and keep whisking.
Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder and anise. Mix all well
Pour the mix in a greased tin.
Bake for 45 minutes aprox. Use a tooth stick or similar to check the inside is cook before removing from oven.
Result:
It raised more than I expected. It wasn’t as moist as I remember but it was tasty. Based on the ingredients reminded me of a olive-Greek cake I did some months ago.
I checked other recipes like this so maybe I will try again at some point.
1/2 lemon skin cut at julienne (long and narrow stripes)
50ml water
50g caster sugar
1/2 lemon juice
Process:
Mix water and sugar in a pan. Heat up to boil water.
Add the lemon zest and mix for 10 sec, while water is boiling
Add lemon juice and keep mixing for another 10 sec.
Check the mix is getting some consistency then remove from heat
Let it cool down for later. It should be like a syrup and solidify while cooling down. You can heat it up in microware for 10-15s to make it liquid again.
Lemon Pudding souffle ingredients:
125ml milk
35g butter
70g caster sugar
70g plain flour
2 eggs yolks
4 eggs whites
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 lemon zest
butter and sugar for greasing
Process:
Pre-heat oven at 180C
Grease (solid butter and sugar) 4 dariole moulds. Be sure there is no shiny parts! Cut a small square of baking paper and put in the bottom of the mould.
Make a “beurre manie” that is mixing the butter and flour by hand in a bowl.
Scold the milk with the vanilla (just hit the boiling point). Then at medium heat, add pieces of the “beurre manie” and whisk non stop with the milk. It is like doing “bechamel” sauce. Once the whisk is not useful, move to a wooden spoon and keep mixing.
At the end you will have kind off a ball, keep cooking for 1-2 minutes to be sure the flour is properly cooked.
Remove from heat and let it cool down
Add the 2 egg yolks one at each time to the “ball”. It should become like a thick cream.
Whisk the egg whites until snow peak. Then add the sugar and lemon zest and whisk again until snow peak. This is the meringe
Now fold a 1/3 of the meringe into the pudding butter. Keep doing the same 1/3 at the time.
Once you have all mixed, pour the butter into the moulds up to 3/4.
Using a deep tray, put the moulds and fill it with water (hot if possible). Be careful the moulds dont float!
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and risen.
Prepare the egg custard while waiting
Fresh egg custard sauce ingredients:
75ml double cream
75ml milk
35g egg yolk
25g caster sugar
1/2 tbs vanilla paste
Process:
In a glass, mix egg yolks and sugar.
Mix double cream, milk and vanilla in a sauce pan. Add a bit of the sugar and put to the boil.
Add the egg mix to the liquid and mix with a wooden spoon.
Keep mixing until the liquid thick up a bit! Dont over do it! If you ran a finger in the back of the spoon when covered with the custard, it should keep apart.
Remove from heat and pour it in a container. Cover with cling film
Presentation:
Once the pudding moulds are ready, remove the mould, be sure you take off the paper too!
Put each pudding in the middle of a dish.
Pour the custard around the pudding
Put a spoon of the lemon syrup on top of the pudding (put in microware if solid)
100g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
oil for greasing
1 tsp sea salt
Filling ingredients:
25g melted butter
100g currants, chopped
50g sultanas, chopped
2 tsp mixed spice
25g caster sugar
Glaze:
200ml water
200g caster sugar
Process:
Mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center.
Warm the milk at body temperature
Pour milk, melted butter and beaten eggs into the flour. Mix all together and then knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough. It will be a bit sticky at the very beginning but dont add any flour.
Shape the dough into a ball, add a bit of oil into the bowl, put the dough, cover with clean film and let it prove until double in size (1h?)
Pre-heat oven at 180C
Prepare a tray with butter and a coating of flour to make it anti-sticky.
Prepare the chelsea buns tins. Put a layer of melted butter, then add a piece of baking paper of the same diameter to cover the bottom. Cover again with a bit of melted butter. Tray to cut another piece of baking paper for the side of the tin. Add a bit of butter again.
Swiss Buns:
Once the dough has double in size, put it on a lightly flour surface and knock the air out.
Cut 6 pieces of 80gr aprox. Cover the pieces and the big dough with the bowl and a towel so they dont dry out.
For each piece, make a ball, flat it with your palm, put pressure and make circules with your hand, remove pressure gradually and until you have a ball again.
Then roll it as it were a “cigar”. Put it in the tray. Leave around 3cm distance between each “cigar”.
Prove again until double in size (25-30m). Move to the Chelsea Buns.
Then bake for 6 minutes aprox or until golden light brown.
Let it cool down before adding the sugar coating.
Optional: make white fondant icing. For each Swiss bun, dip only the top, the lift it, let the fondant to drip by one side and then with a finger, clean the fondant drip without leaving the finger mark.
Chelsea Buns:
With the left-over dough and using a rolling-pin, spread the dough into a big rectangle. At least 42x25cm.
With a brush, cover the dough with the melted butter.
Mix sugar and spice, then spread it over the dough.
Spread evenly the chopped currants and sultanas.
With the roll, push a bit the dry fruit.
Make a roll with the dough, start by the “long” side. Be sure it is tight but dont break it.
With a sharp knife, cut both end until you have an even form. Then cut 12-14 pieces from the roll.
Put one piece in the middle, then put another at 5 or 6 other pieces around as it were a flower. Be sure the end of each piece points to the middle.
Put for tins to prove again. Aprox 25 minutes. They should grow until there is no space between each piece and raise a bit too.
Bake until the top is golden brown. At 180C, aprox 15-20 minutes.
Glaze with the sugar syrup as soon as the tins are removed from the oven. Remove the buns from the tin!
