"Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee (Contains Alcohol)

January has come.... so dark... so wet... so dreary. According to many, the first Monday in January is the saddest day of the year. You might need a bit of a pick-me-up to help you out, and here is one full of Christmassy cheer: a "Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee!

I don't know why nobody else has thought of combining two quintessentially Christmassy whiskey cocktails, and even when I put the two things together in my head I didn't really know what it would look like. But with some brainstorming, I eventually designed an Irish coffee that's infused with the common hot toddy flavours: cinnamon, cloves, and lemon. You might be thinking "lemon? With coffee?!" but don't knock it as the Portuguese have been combining coffee with lemon for a while in their summer tipple, Mazagran.

Infusing coffee with spices or herbs is actually pretty simple if you have a French press or pour-over filter, simply pop the spices in with the coffee and as it steeps the spices will give their flavour to the finished brew. It's also fairly simple if you have a coffee capsule machine (like I do: I got myself one with some of our wedding gift money) if you pop the spices into the bottom of a warmed glass and allow the coffee to dispense onto them, then cover with a coaster and allow to brew for about 5 minutes.

Despite the fact that the Irish coffee was invented in my home county of Clare (or Limerick, depending on your sources) I had never had one until my brother made me one this Christmas. He makes his Irish coffees with a strong bias to whiskey, however this drink was originally meant to have only an ounce measure of whiskey as a night-cap.

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 servings

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) strong black coffee

4 whole cloves

2 inches (5 centimetres) piece of cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces

Half a teaspoon of lemon zest

Two shots (60 millilitres) Irish whiskey: Irish brands include Jameson, Bushmills, Powers, and Tullamore Dew

4 teaspoons (20 grammes) Demerara sugar

Whipped cream, to serve. I use whipped cream from a squirty can because it's convenient

Grated nutmeg, for decoration

Optional: 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) fresh lemon juice

METHOD

• Infuse the coffee with the spices and lemon zest, either by popping the aromatics with ground coffee into a French press, or putting them into the bottom of a warmed glass, pouring over the coffee, then covering with a coaster to brew for about 5 minutes.
• Use two small stemmed glasses, measuring about 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) each, and warm with hot water before using. 
• Divide the sugar between the glasses, and gently pour half of the whiskey into each glass without stirring.
• Gently add the coffee (making sure you've strained the spices out) by gently pouring it over the back of a teaspoon into the glasses. Irish coffee is best if the layers don't mix much.
• Top off with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.

American Style: Snickerdoodles (Cup Measurements)

Happy New Year! My first offering of 2020 is a delicious cinnamony treat: the Snickerdoodle!

 

I meant to make these in the lead up to Christmas, as these are traditionally a holiday biscuit. But sadly for me I spent from December 19th to 31st in and out of bed with a horrible viral illness. So, a lot of my plans went right out of the window with my ability to breathe properly or eat. So, I made these during the week instead as my first baking venture of 2020.

As you know, last September I discovered the strange and enigmatic wonders of working with American cup measurements when I made whoopie pies. When I made those I thought to myself: could I design my own recipe with cups instead of ounces or grammes? That led me to this delicious creation, which was the result of much foostering and tweaking.

One thing I will impress upon you, however, is that you measure the ingredients correctly: there is, indeed, a way to properly use cups when measuring flour, caster sugar, and brown sugar.

I use Jill Selkowitz's guide to measuring flour on her website This Old Gal, where she stresses that flour must be nice and airy before measuring to get consistent results. Also, brown sugar must be compacted into the cup measurements nice and tightly to get the right results. Brown sugar is a little softer than white sugar, so the cupfuls are slightly lighter.

So, without further ado, here is the first recipe that I have ever designed to be made using American cup measurements!

INGREDIMENTS

2 cups (240 grammes) plain flour: wheat, or spelt, spooned and leveled
½ cup (105 grammes) soft light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (115 grammes) caster sugar
½ cup (115 grammes) butter
1 medium (US large) egg
½ level teaspoon (2.5 millilitres) baking soda
1 level teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (1 millilitre) fine salt
Optional: 1 level teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground ginger
Cinnamon sugar, to coat


METHOD

• Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper, and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Make sure the oven racks are in the centre of the oven.
• In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg to get a fluffy mixture.
• Sieve in the dry ingredients and work by hand into a soft dough that is a little bit tacky.
• Divide the mixture into 12 balls, rolling each ball in cinnamon sugar to coat. Arrange the dough balls on the sheets about 2 inches (5 centimetres) apart to allow for spreading. I only have small trays so I can only fit 6 to 8 cookies on mine.
• Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on how crispy or chewy you want them: shorter cooking makes chewier cookies, longer cooking makes them crispier.

Tangzhong Cinnamon Rolls: Further Experiments

In my further bread experiments, I've discovered that tangzhong dough works very well for making cinnamon rolls!

I wrote up a cinnamon rolls recipe about two years ago using a traditional bread dough method, but I thought it'd be nice to update it with my recent discovery of the Tangzhong method.

In my previous blog on the topic, I said that it was an Asian method (which makes sense, being called tangzhong), however from further research I discovered that its origins are to be found in Eastern Europe, particularly Austria and Russia. In German, it's called kochstück and was originally used to prevent spelt bread from drying out in the oven. So, it's doubly appropriate I should use it on this blog, which has a focus on making things with spelt flour!

 

This made some mega fluffy cinnamon rolls, but I will warn that they dough is so soft and stretchy that it's difficult to get a nice tight roll. But the crumb is so unbelievably fluffy that that won't bother you.To make the dough, I used 1 pound (450 grammes) strong flour, at least 11.5% protein, 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) water, the same amount of milk, two ¼ ounce (7 gramme) packs of dried yeast, 2 ounce (55 grammes) salted butter, and 2 tablespoon (30 grammes) sugar.

In the future, I'll be looking into ways to knead this style of dough without a machine, because I rely on my newly acquired stand mixer to knead this very sticky style of bread. There are masters who know the ancient ways of kneading high hydration dough, so I'll turn to them for assistance....

German Witches' Brew: Buttergrog (Contains Alcohol)

Es ist fast Winter! Und für euch, ich habe ein leckeres Wintergetränk: Buttergrog!

The nights are getting darker, the outside world is getting colder and more stark, and inside we're all starting to stock up on our heating fuel and warming, comforting food. In Ireland, winter starts on November 1st, which is a month before the rest of the western world, which marks December 1st as the first day of winter.

The four main Celtic festivals in the year mark the start of a new season. Samhain, the first day of winter, is celebrated on November 1st, which is the day after Oíche Shamhna, which means "Samhain Eve". Oíche Shamhna is our native name for Halloween.

Of course, we don't have the monopoly on wintertime celebrations! In fact, the homeland of our Celtic ancestors is central Europe, who absolutely go to town on autumnal and winter feasting. Germany, Austria, Poland, and many other countries throughout the European heartland have absolutely wonderful arrays of warming food and drinks.

All throughout Germany, Austria, and Poland there are a variety of warm, spiced alcoholic drinks. There's glühwein, which we know in English was mulled wine; there's the strange concoction grzaniec, which is hot spiced beer (which I really want to try so watch this space); and of course this blog's subject, the German delight buttergrog.

The word "grog" conjures an altogether, and much less classy, image of booze swilling pirates, but this drink is a delicious hot cider, flavoured with spices and aromatic citrus, spiked with rum, and finished off with a smooth hit of rich, buttery goodness. This is comfort in a glass.

For anyone who has made mulled wine in the past, you might be put off by the fiddliness of finding raw spices such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise. However, I have a cheat:

Most Polish shops, and various healthfood shops, in Ireland sell spiced teabags. They often have a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, and sometimes orange zest, and are the perfect short-cut to a delicious aromatic spice blend for mulled drinks.

The brand I use is Loyd, but there is also Pukka. Both of these brands sell a variety of spiced teabags, but the one I used for this recipe was Loyd Warming Tea.

DIFFICULTY

Easy!

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 servings

1 can (500 millilitres) dry cider, about 5%

2 shots (60 millilitres) rum: white or spiced. You could also use some homemade spice infused rum

4 teaspoons (20 grammes) unsalted butter, cold

1 spiced teabag

2 slices of lemon or orange

1 or 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 grammes) brown sugar or honey, to taste

HOW-TO

• In a small saucepan, heat the cider with the lemon or orange slices and the teabag. Don't let it boil, but let it get steaming hot. Let the teabag infuse with the cider for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in the rum, and then add sugar or honey to taste. Allow to come back to temperature. I used some homemade spiced rum, infused with cinnamon, vanilla, and cloves. You could also use shop bought spiced rum.
• Put two teaspoons (10 grammes) of the butter in the bottom of each beer mug.
• Pour half the drink into each mug, stirring constantly to properly incorporate the butter and let it emulsify. 
• Serve hot with sweet or savoury snacks

Vodka Infusions: Hot and Spicy Cinnamon

Looking for a heartwarming autumnal drink? Try this delicious cinnamon infused vodka!

Autumn is really starting to take shape as we begin the descent to winter: the leaves are falling off the trees, there's a nip in the air, and the distinct smell of comfy wood-fueled home fires can be smelled wherever people live. It's at this time of the year people are starting to keep their houses, and themselves, nice and toasty warm. One good way to keep warm to drink a nice warming spirit, and this is such a spirit.

The slow infusion of cinnamon bark stick into the sweetened vodka brings out a beautiful golden colour, like a hearth fire. As you drink it, it warms your throat and then the centre of your body. Enjoyed in a small amount, this really is a delicious treat.

Infusing vodka for other clear strong spirits is a very simple and fun project that has endless possibilities! Vodka can be infused with dried spices, such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, or cardamom, and also vanilla pods. It can also be infused with herbs, like peppermint or basil (don't knock it), citrus zest, and even tea leaves or ground coffee. With all the innumerable flavour sources and combinations therein, you could become a vodka alchemist.

I find, though, that the infused spirits always taste better if you add a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Unseasoned infused vodka can taste very flat. You could use any kind of sugar or sweetener, like brown sugar, golden syrup, honey, or white sugar. I find a ratio of one part sugar, to 5 parts spirit works best, but you can experiment with your own batches. But just remember, you can always add more sugar, but you can't take it away.

This batch of cinnamon vodka was very, very hot and spicy, which I how I like it, and I make mine with just cinnamon sticks and white sugar. However, if you want it to taste more soft and warm, you can use brown sugar or honey instead of white sugar, and you can even add a seeded vanilla pod for a delicious cinnamon roll flavour. The world's your oyster!

~ ^_^ ~

DIFFICULTY

Easy!

~ ^_^ ~

INGREDIMENTS

500 millilitres (2⅛ cups; 17½ UK fluid ounces) vodka, white rum, or other clear spirit (40% ABV; 80 Proof)

100 grammes (3½ ounces; ½ cup) sugar

Pinch of salt

4 or 5 cinnamon sticks

Optional: 1 deseeded vanilla pod

HOW-TO

• Clean a glass 700 or 750 millilitre (1¼ UK pints, 3 cup) bottle, such as a wine bottle, and pour in the sugar, salt, and vodka.
• Put the cinnamon sticks down the neck of the bottle, breaking them if necessary, and close the lid tightly.
• Shake the bottle until the sugar is dissolve completely. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place for 4 to 7 days. Fewer days will yield a much weaker infusion, more days will yield a stronger infusion. I infused mine for 5 or 6 days (I can't quite remember) and it was nice and spicy.
• Once the infusion is as strong as you want it to be, strain the vodka into a large jug and remove the spices. Return the strained vodka to the bottle, close, and keep in a cool dark place.

Choco-Cinnamint Cupcakes: a Flavour Experiment

I am finally back from a week-long summer camp where I taught teenagers how to play the bass guitar! And just before I left I made some delicious little cupcakes, including these fabulous Choco-Cinnamint cakes!

I think I may have mentioned it before, but I really like the combination of cinnamon and mint (I love "cinnamint" tea) and I especially love the combination of chocolate, cinnamon, and mint. I first discovered it when I ordered a hot chocolate from a coffee stand in the train station, and had forgotten that I'd asked for mint syrup and asked for cinnamon sprinkled on top instead of cocoa powder. The accidental discovery of this warm and aromatic flavour combination is one of my best culinary experiences.

I've always wanted to try making a cake using the choco-cinnamint theme, and my recent experimentations with cupcakes seemed like the perfect opportunity! I think cupcakes are a great outlet for flavour curiosities because they are single serving and can be made in small batches. As seen above, I made these with some delicious lemon cupcakes around the same time.

I made these cupcakes by making a two-egg quantity of my most recently revised cupcake recipe and replacing an eighth of the flour with cocoa powder, and adding half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. I also made some chocolate buttercream with a little pinch of cinnamon, and then half as much buttercream flavoured with peppermint essence and tinted green. I filled a piping bag fitted with a star tip, keeping the minty icing to one side and the chocolate icing to the other, then piped each cake with a swirl. As you can see, I didn't quite get the icings even on either side so some cakes are greener than others!

If you feel like something different, I encourage you to give this interesting flavour combination a try!

Recipe Review: Melktert, a South African Custard Pie

Hou jy van melktert?

It's been a while since I made a melktert, or milk tart in English, and since then I've eaten a few and seen a few more made on YouTube. I thought a little review was in order!

Normally, milk tart is a simple conflour-thicken vanilla custard in a tart shell, either crushed-biscuit base (most common among home cooks), shortcrust pastry (which I rarely see) or—so I've read online—puff pastry (which is apparently the "traditional" way, but I've personally never ever seen it), sprinkled with ground cinnamon. I've made a few changes to the usual way of making if, which I'll explain in this blog.

But first things first, ignore the wrinkly top: it's a by product of a new technique of making the custard lighter by mixing in beaten egg white. The tops only go wrinkly if you undercook them and take them out of the oven too soon, so learn from my mistake!

Despite that little gaffe, mixing whipped egg white into the custard was the first main change I made. I read other recipes online which all did the same thing, claiming it to be the traditional way. It makes the custard feel lighter on the palate, and slightly more moussey in texture.

The second main change I made was to the biscuit base: normal biscuit bases are 1 part butter to 2 parts biscuit, but I halved the amount of butter. It made for a lighter, crumblier base. I also used half digestives and half Speculaas biscuits, to keep the Dutch theme going.

INGREDIMENTS

For 6 mini tarts, or one 9 inch tart

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) biscuits, either digestives, gingernuts, or Speculaas, or a mixture
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 1 UK pint (2½ US cups, 570 millilitres) full fat milk
• 2 eggs, separated
• 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) cornflour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) good quality vanilla essence
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) lemon zest
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) butter
• Ground cinnamon, for decorating

METHOD

• Crush the biscuits, either using a food processor or by rolling over the biscuits in a plastic bag. In a mixing bowl, mix the biscuits with the room temperature butter with your hands to make a crumbly mixture.
• Use this mixture to line 6 mini tart tins, about 4 inches (10 centimetres) wide, or one 9 inch (22 centimetre) tart tin. Pop in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
• Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a saucepan. Mix the yolks with half the sugar, the cornflour and the lemon zest until super smooth and lump free.
• Add in the milk gradually until completely incorporated. Once you have a nice smooth mixture, cook over medium high heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time.
• Boil the mixture for a full minute, then remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla essence. Set aside to cool slightly while you preheat the oven.
• Set the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.3) and allow to preheat before moving on to the meringue.
• In the mixing bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add in the remaining half of the sugar and whip into a medium-peak meringue: when you lift the beaters the peak should flop over.
• Fold the meringue into the cooked custard a third at a time, quickly but gently to prevent the egg whites cooking. You don't have to fold each third through completely before adding the next third, just enough to lighten to base.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tart shell(s) and spread out nicely, giving the tin a gentle little shake and tap.
• Bake the tart for 20 minutes on the centre shelf, or until the outside inch (2.5 centimetres) of the filling puffs up slightly and the entire surface is dry to the touch.
• Take the tart out of the oven and cool completely on a wire rack in the tin, before chilling in the fridge for 4 hours before serving.
• Before serving, sprinkle the surface with a good layer of ground cinnamon.

Yeast Risen Cinnamon Rolls (Wheat Free)

Fancy a lazy weekend breakfast treat? Here are some deliciously spicy, soft, and rich cinnamon rolls!

I really, thoroughly enjoy the combination of yeasty, doughy, extra light and fluffy dough and squishy gooey spicy centres found in cinnamon rolls: it's such a pleasing thing to eat. They look really pretty too, and the fluffy sides revealed by breaking the rolls apart is one of the best parts.

In the UK, these buns usually have some dried fruit along with the sugary spicy filling and are called Chelsea buns, but my companion really doesn't like dried fruit. So, this American style take on the spiral bread roll is much more likely to be eaten in our household!

To be honest, I prefer them too: the dried fruit kind of gets in the way of enjoying that ooey-gooey middle bit, especially is it's slathered in buttery, creamy, yet tart icing, like a yoghurt or cream cheese glaze.

INGREDIMENTS 

For 8 cinnamon rolls 

• Half a quantity of dough made through this recipe
• About 2 ounces (55 grams) caster sugar 
• About 2 ounces (55 grams) light brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) ground cinnamon 
• Up to 1 ounce (30 grammes) very soft butter

For the icing

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) very soft butter
• Plain natural yoghurt, buttermilk, or milk to mix

METHOD 

• Prepare the dough as instructed, and allow to rise. Grease a 11 by 7 inch (28 by 18 centimetre) rectangular dish, or any other similar size.
• When the dough is nicely puffed up and doubled in size, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface until it becomes a rectangle just under half an inch (1 centimetre) thick. 
• Spread the soft butter over the whole surface of the dough, except for an inch (2 centimetres) on one of the long sides. Butter it like you'd be generously buttering toast, but don't drown the surface in it: you don't want the rolls to be greasy, there should just be enough to allow the sugar to stick.
• In a cup or bowl, mix up the sugars and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar over the buttered surface until it forms a sandy surface. Make sure the sugar distribution is nice and even.
• Slightly wet the un-sugared long side of the dough, and roll from the fully sugared long side to the wet long side, making a loose but snug roly-poly: if you roll it too tightly, the buns will grow noses in the oven, because the tightly rolled middle will have nowhere to go but up! Pinch the join well.
• Cut the big cinnamon sausage into 8 pieces, and then place cut side up into the dish, only barely touching each other.
• Cover, and leave to rise for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until increased by a half or so. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4). 
• Once they are puffed, and the oven preheated, place the dish in the oven on the centre shelf for 30 minutes, or until deliciously golden brown.
• While the buns are cooking, make the icing. Cream together the butter and the icing sugar until smooth and clump free. Mix into a glaze with some yoghurt, buttermilk, or milk to make a thick but running glaze.
• Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the buns while still warm.

TIP
If you want to eat these first thing in the morning, but don't want to get up early to make the dough, you can make these the night before. Prepare the cinnamon rolls right up to the point that you arrange them in the dish, and then wrap tightly with cling film. Pop in the fridge overnight, and then in the morning put them straight from the fridge into the cold oven, then turn it on. The buns will rise while the oven is preheating, and in 40 to 45 minutes you'll have delicious breakfast cinnamon rolls!

Best eaten on the day they are made. If there are leftovers, eat within three days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

THIS TIME IN 2016:  Milky Ice Pops: Chocolate Flavour (Naturally Gluten Free; Dairy-Free Option)
THIS TIME IN 2015: Battenberg Birthday Cake (Wheat and Dairy Free)
THIS TIME IN 2014: American Style Pancakes... also known as drop scones, ssh. (Wheat Free)
THIS TIME IN 2013: Cake Pops, a Maiden Voyage: Jaffa Cake Pops

Halloween 2016: Toffee Apple Doughnuts (Wheat Free)

It's October! Or as I like to call it: Halloween advent. And here's a sticky treat: toffee apple doughnuts!

Since I discovered my inner darkness in my teen years, and also as a result of Mum and Dad making it into a fun event in the year, I've always been fond of Halloween. I like the early dark evenings, the turf fire on at night, and the get-togethers involving food and party games.

Moving into adulthood, unfortunately, Halloween parties become drinking fests, and I find myself yearning for the simpler childhood events that involved wearing a black bin liner (which could make you anything you ever wanted) and eating sweets until I was sick.

One of the sweets that rarely--if ever--graced the Halloween spread in our house was toffee apples. Apple made an appearance in the form of bobbing for them in a mixing bowl full of water, but they never appeared covered in toffee. And in a way that's a good thing, because generally speaking when kids eat them you end up with a house full of skinned, mauled apples with all the toffee eaten off.

As I got older, I experimented with toffee apples and I actually like them, but it's important to use very small, tart apples, which are hard to find. I used to use Pink Ladies, because they're slightly sour and very firm fleshed, but spending ages hovering over the loose apples looking for the smallest ones is time not worth spending.

I experimented with toffee dipping slices of apple, but the surface of the slices was too juicy and the toffee would either run off as I was applying, or melt off over the course of the day, leaving a sticky toffee puddle under the apple slice. Apple slices dip very well in chocolate, however.

So, I decided to try and do something to capture the essence of a toffee apple, but be a small treat that isn't overwhelmingly and insurmountably sickly. And who doesn't like doughnuts?

A little cake doughnut filled with stewed apple and wrapped in a creamy toffee layer provides that instant sugar hit and autumnal feel that you'd get with a toffee apple, but without it eating it being a monstrous task.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

For about 16 mini filled doughnuts

• 1 pound (455 grammes) doughnut dough (use your favourite recipe, or use this recipe)
• 1 firm eating apple, like a Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Gala
• Two pinches ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ teaspoon cornflour

For the crunchy toffee coating

• 6 ounces caster sugar
• 3 ounces golden syrup
• 3 ounces evaporated milk, or cream
• 16 wooden lolly sticks

HOW-TO

First, make the apple filling,

• Peel and core the apple, and cut into half inch (1 centimetre) cubes. Put into a small saucepan with all the ingredients except the cornflour. Bring to the boil, then reduce the temperature to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until the apple is tender.
• Put the cornflour in a small cup, and add a tablespoon of water. Mix into a slurry, then pour into the saucepan slowly, stirring all the time. Cook until the sauce goes back to being transparent, and it has thickened.
• Once fully cooked, set aside until completely cool; about an hour.

Then, make the doughnuts,

• Preheat the cooking oil to 180°C (350°F), either in a deep fryer or a heavy saucepan.
• Roll out the doughnut dough to a quarter inch (5 millimetre) thickness. Cut into as many 3 inch circles as you can, and make pairs of circles. Put half a teaspoon of the apple filling on one circle, brush another circle with water, and make a sandwich. Press the edges together very well, then cut into a 2 inch (5 centimetre) circle, keeping the jam in the centre. This will keep them well sealed. 
• Repeat until you have run out of circles, then gently mash together and re-roll the trimmings, Continue until you have used all the dough.
• Cook the doughnuts in the oil, about 3 at a time so as not to overcrowd the fryer. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes on either side, until golden brown and puffed. Drain on kitchen towel then allow to cool on a wire rack.

Finally, make the toffee and assemble,

• Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper, or a silicone liner.
• In a medium saucepan, combine all the toffee ingredients and melt together slowly over low heat, until every sugar grain has dissolved.
• Increase the heat to medium, and cook at a slow boil for about 10 minutes. If you have a sugar thermometre, it should read between 146 and 154°C (295 to 309 °F). If using the cold water test, a small drop in a glass of ice-cold water should snap cleanly.
• Immediately remove from the heat, and place on a folded tea towel to protect the work surface. Take a lolly stick, dip the very tip in the toffee, and stick it into a doughnut. Then dip the doughnut into the toffee, twirling it to cover it completely in toffee. Tap gently on the edge of the saucepan to drip off the excess, then place it on the tray, holding it for a few seconds untilit can stand upright by itself.
• Repeat this process with the remaining toffee and doughnuts. If the toffee starts to set, put it over a low heat until it goes runny again.
• If you have any toffee left over, you can pour it out on another baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper, or a silicone cake tin.

This is a tasty alternative to a full toffee apple, and they have a lovely fluffy doughnut added to boot. This should be a delicious treat for Halloween, or indeed Bonfire Night on November 5th.

Yeast and Wheat Free Cinnanomnom (or just plain Cinnamon) Rolls

In the aftermath of the weekend of revelry, I decided to do something that I've wanted to do for quite some time: yeast free buns of some kind. This time, it's cinnamon rolls!

I have a few friends who are not only uncomfortable with wheat and gluten, but also with yeast. I've heard of a few people of late with yeast sensitivities or intolerances, and for the last year or so it's been a constant trial and error process of finding the best way of baking traditionally yeast leavened recipes without using yeast.

Spelt and yeast have a fraught relationship too, in my experience, so for my own peace of mind finding a way of making things without it would be just great. Last year, I attempted hot cross buns without yeast, but it was less than successful.

As such I took to the world wide web. I googled things like 'yeast free bread', or 'yeast free Chelsea buns' or 'hot cross buns', et cetera. However, the thing that brought the most promising results was searches for yeast free cinnamon rolls: apparently, Americans seem to want to have a yeast free life too.

This research brought up a few recipes that centre around the kind of dough used to make Southern American style 'biscuits'. What is called a biscuit over there seems to be something of a bready savoury scone, kind of like soda bread. Obviously, 'biscuit' over here means a little crunchy flat cake that you dip in your cup of tea, so this was a word I never considered googling to find a recipe for bread.

I compared a lot of recipes for 'biscuits', and found that overall it's a combination of flour, butter, buttermilk, and raising agents. The recipes all depend heavily on buttermilk, which makes designing a dairy free version kind of, well, impossible, unfortunately. But I will be developing that in the future.

Once I had compared and contrasted the recipes, I used the following recipe and it turned out very well! I will definitely convert this recipe into something suitable for a hot cross bun for Good Friday, and I'll also being having a go at something I personally feel a little more familiar with: a Chelsea bun.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Use a soft touch with the dough: the more you work it, the tougher it will be when it's cooked: treat it like moose meat, or Swedish ladies.
• You need to use all spelt flour, just like you would when making bread: the whole spelt/cornflour mix just doesn't cut it like it does in cake.
• The trick to lovely fluffy and light no-yeast bread is the adage "cold dough, hot oven": all the ingredients must be cold, and the oven must be as hot as you can get it. My oven gets to about 220*C (450*F, Gas Mk.9), which is just about right. 250*C (500*F) would be better.
• Bake them so that they're nice and tightly packed: this ensures that they'll rise nicely and get the height they need.

So, let's get cracking!

INGREDIMENTS:

For 12 cinnamon rolls

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) white spelt flour, refrigerated for 20 minutes
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (2 millilitres) bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) cold block butter, preferably frozen for 20 minutes
• 8 fluid ounces (240 millilitres) cold buttermilk

For the filling,

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) soft butter, for spreading
• 2 tablespoon (30 millilitres) soft brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground cinnamon
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon (2 millilitres) ground cloves

To glaze,

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) icing sugar
• Milk, to make up the glaze

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to as hot as you can, about 220*C (450*F, Gas Mk. 9), and grease a 9 inch (22 centimetre) round tin.
• In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, and salt. Mix to combine fully, then grate the butter in with the wide side of your box grater, dipping the butter in the flour after each grate.
• With your fingers, gently toss and break up the butter in the flour until you get a coarse crumbly mixture.
• Using the tip of a knife, stir in the buttermilk. The dough will be completely uneven: sticky in some places, dry in others, etc., but don't worry.
• Lightly sprinkle the work surface with flour, then turn out everything in the bowl. Gently flatten the dough, and fold it over, and flatten and fold until it becomes a smooth dough. This should take about 5 folds, and all the flour and buttermilk will be nicely brought together. Do not knead under any circumstances: the dough will get tough.
• Roll out the dough into a rectangle about half an inch (about a centimetre) in thickness.
• In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling to make a paste. Spread the paste out on the dough rectangle, spreading all the way out to each short end, but leaving a border of about an inch (2 centimetres) at each wide side.
• Roll the dough into a sausage, wide side to wide side, keeping the dough roll nice and tight. Cut into 12 slices with a sharp knife.
• Arrange the slices, neatly packed, into the tin, and put in the centre of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes,or until nice and brown on the top. I actually took mine out a little too early because I was afraid of them being too crunchy.
• Mix the icing sugar with enough milk to make a thick but still running icing: it should coat the back of the spoon, but it should be able to run off.
• Take the buns out of the oven and, while still hot, spread the icing over the top of the buns. It will melt, but that's part of the charm.
• You can turn them out all in one big piece, allowing people to tear and share themselves, or you can cut around the edges and take each one out. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before eating freshly baked.

These are lovely and doughy, having the texture of a fluffy bread, but without the hassle of yeast. It's obviously not exactly the same as bread, but it's close enough!

Danish Pastries: Dinosaur Paws (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

Having learnt how to make fairly decent puff pastry, I think it may be my new favourite thing. There are so many things I want to try out using it; it's a shame it takes so long to make! However, for now, I will show you all my most recent adventure in the land of laminated pastry: cinnamon Danish pastries!

In a lot of bakeries here in Ireland, there are a few varieties of puff pastry snacks available: maple pecan plaits, apple turnovers, croissants, and cinnamon spirals. The cinnamon ones are my favourite, and for those who have never seen one before, it looks like a slice of Swiss roll (roll cake) made with puff pastry and cinnamon sugar, and I love pulling off the pastry following the spiral around to the middle... because I'm strange like that.

This time, though, I decided to do a different shape, using the same combination of things. From researching, I've found no name for this kind of folding technique other than "Turkey Feather", which a few North American bloggers have used, and I've also seen it referred to as a "Tulip Fold"; I, however, think it looks like a dinosaur footprint.

To make these pastries, I used the same puff pastry dough I used to make the croissants, doubling the ingredient amounts to make a bigger batch of pastry. It also needs an extra 5 to 10 minutes freezing time between folds. You will also need about 4 teaspoons of light brown sugar or caster sugar mixed with a half to full teaspoon of ground cinnamon, depending on how strong you want the cinnamon flavour.

Without the aid of a video, I have drawn a little diagram of how I folded it and then took a photograph:

1. Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle roughly 14 inches (35½ centimetres) wide; trim the edges if you want it to be nice and neat, but it's not necessary. Wet the surface with a little water and sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar to make a nice covering.
2. Working with the long sides, fold each long side into the middle, using a technique called a book fold.
3. Wet the new plain surfaces of puff pastry and sprinkle on some more cinnamon sugar.
4. Fold in half, short end to short end.
5. Fold in half again, long side to long side.
6. Pop in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes (or the freezer for about 10-15 minutes) before cutting into 8 equal portions.

Arrange these on a baking tray which has been lightly floured, about 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7½ centimetres) apart from each other and the side of the tray, and bake in an oven preheated to 220ºC (450ºF, Gas Mk.8) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until fully expanded and have a nice golden brown colour around the edges. Use a fish slice to move the pastries from the tray to a wire cooling rack and eat cool, and preferably on the day they are baked.

These are super cute, and quite tasty! I thought they were just fine the way they were but you can also, for a more Scandinavian style cinnamon pastry, use some ground cardamom in addition to your cinnamon. 

Stay tuned for more adventures in the land of laminated pastry!

THIS TIME IN 2014: Mini Chocolate "Melkterts" (Wheat Free)
THIS TIME IN 2013: Homemade Box of Chocolates = WIN

Honey and Cinnamon Popcorn (Gluten Free)

Is there anything in this world that can't be improved by adding cinnamon and honey? I really don't think there is, and the satisfying crunch of nice salty buttery popcorn is no exception.

For a time, as I may have mentioned, I was very allergic to chocolate. Between the ages of 6 and 21 I couldn't touch the stuff or I would get severe migraine headache with full aura, stomach upset and become incredibly bad tempered. During that time, I tried eating it once or twice but always resumed to abstinence.

When at 21 I realised that I could eat it again, I began making up for lost time by eating shedloads of it quite often, and now it has become quite a part of my life. However, I have recently noticed that after I eat chocolate I get stomach upset and my skin breaks out in spots. 

  

It seems that from birth to death I will always have some difficulty with chocolate in one expression or another, and because of this I am removing it once again from my diet, except for special occasions or if I'm feeling homicidally pre-menstrual and nothing else will do. I can't tell at the moment if it's the cocoa that's causing it, or the dairy and the cocoa in conjunction, but I'm just cutting it out anyway and reducing my dairy intake in general.

Luckily for me during my 15 years of chocolate abstinence I developed a taste for varying different kinds of flavours and desserts, my favourites being anything to do with toffee or fudge. Also, since making my diet a lot more raw food based I have begun to fully appreciate the wonders of honey, and I feel this is sounding in an era of more natural based sweets and confectionery into my diet.

Earlier this week I went to a movie night, and every movie night needs popcorn. I opted to make a sweet popcorn instead of my usual chocolate brownies tactic to remove the temptation of being in the same vicinity of something chocolatey and delicious.

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Gluten
☑ Eggs
☑ Nuts
☑ Refined sugar products

CONTAINS
☒ Dairy (but the butter can be replaced with margarine or left out)

INGREDIMENTS

• 4 tablespoons (60 millilitres) popping corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) butter or margarine, or omit
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) salt
• 4 tablespoons (60 millilitres) honey

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.3, or moderate).
• Add the oil, butter and cinnamon to a large heavy-based saucepan and gently heat until the butter melts. Add the kernels and cover; heat on medium to pop the kernels, shaking often to prevent burning.
• Lightly oil a large mixing bowl and add the honey to the bottom. Once the corn has popped, pour into the bowl, sprinkle with the salt, and mix very thoroughly. You can't over mix this mixture, but you can definitely under mix it, much like granola.
• Pour the honeyed popcorn out onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Dry out in the oven for about 10 minutes, tossing half-way through.
• Allow to cool slightly before serving.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Minty Millionaire's Shortbread

Mini Chocolate "Melkterts" (Wheat Free)

Three updates this week! How I spoil you all.

I don't know what it is with my brothers and I, but there seems to be a family weakness for things South African: they each at a time were going out with a South African, I have a lot of friends who are South African, and theirs is an accent I could listen to all day. Their cuisine is a delightfully bizarre blend of all things European with the local twist applied, through spices and local vegetables.

My next oldest brother was going out with a woman who was a friend of mine in college, and she was originally from Cape Town. She really missed her home land, and would often recreate things she and her family would eat back home when she came around for dinner. Oxtail was her real favourite, spiced to Hell with dried bird's eye chillies, but another was Melktert, or "Milk Tart" as she called it.


Melktert is basically a pastry or biscuit-crumb base filled with a set vanilla scented custard and dusted liberally with ground cinnamon. It is absolutely amazing by itself, but what in this world cannot be improved with chocolate?

I used the same recipe for the bases as I used in my lemon meringue tarts recipe, but instead I made smaller cases using a muffin tin and filled them with a simple set custard, flavoured with cocoa powder.

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten (unless you use gluten-free oats)
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (check italics for alternatives)


 INGREDIMENTS

For pastry:

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes)  cornflour
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter or margarine
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt

For custard filling:

• 10 fluid ounces (285 millilitres) whole milk
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) cornflour
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) butter or leave out

HOW-TO

• Make the pastry according to the lemon meringue tart recipe, and cook into one big case or into little cases. Allow to go cold.
• In a saucepan, mix all the custard ingredients except the butter and blend into a smooth liquid. Cook over medium heat, mixing continuously with a whisk, until thickened. It will be the consistency of fairy thick custard, almost as thick as a pudding consistency. The longer you cook it the thicker it gets so if you want a really thick custard just keep cooking.
• Remove from the heat and stir through the butter. This will make the filling richer and shinier.
• Pour into the pastry and shake to level out. Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge.
• If you like, you can dust it with cocoa powder, icing sugar, or ground cinnamon.
  
  
  

As you can see, I cooked my custard quite thickly. I like an almost ganache like consistency with chocolate tarts, but you can set it softer, more like a chilled cheesecake, if you cook it less.

Variations on a Theme: Chocolate Chip Cookies

As much as I love chocolate chip cookies, sometimes the same old recipe cooked over and over again can get a little tired, no matter how tasty. Knowing what I'm like, I like to give old favourites a new edge by adding something a little unusual or unexpected, and these are no exception.

The other day I experimented with some new ideas for the American classic by adding some flavours to my standard recipe.

Coffee and Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Both these batches followed my American Style chocolate chip cookie recipe, but had a few little twists. I used caster and light brown sugar, instead of dark brown sugar, and used milk chocolate chips (which I made by chopping up a milk chocolate bar).

For the coffee and cinnamon ones, I added 2 tablespoons of coffee grinds, 1 teaspoon of malted drink powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients and sieved them all together. The malted drink powder isn't necessary, but I think it makes them taste a little more rich and full. If you are including it, however, be careful of the brand you buy and always check the label: some brands of malted drink powder contain wheat flour, so if you're wheat intolerant that just won't do.

Also, at the risk of sounding completely obvious, malted drink powder isn't gluten free. But then again, neither is spelt flour.

And for the orange ones, I simply creamed the grated rind of half an orange into the butter and sugars. That's all!

The above amounts apply to the ingredient quantities outlined in the original recipe, that is, 2 tablespoons of coffee grinds or the grated rind of half an orange to every 4 ounces (115 grammes) of butter and associated ingredients. If you were halving or doubling the original recipe, you would obviously have to halve or double the amount of extra ingredients.

Another variation I'd love to try when I next have the opportunity to bake up another batch of chocolate chip lovelies is replacing some of the chocolate chips with some dried banana chips. I love dried banana, and I've been told that banana and chocolate go really well together, and I'm willing to give it a go. The only time in my life that I've experienced chocolate and banana together is in a Chupa-Chup lolly, and it was a truly nasty synthetic experience which I wish never to repeat.

So, in the spirit of experimentation, what kinds of combinations would you like to try?