Sweetie Pie's Top Baking Suggestions for Valentine's Day

So, the feast of St Valentine is upon us in a week's time. I have a few ideas of what to make this year to celebrate it, but due to college work, I can't get to a kitchen to bake until Friday the 10th to publish some more ideas.

In the meantime, I have compiled a list of ideas to try from the past few years of my blog for you to try! Here are my 5 top picks for Valentine's day 2017.


1. February Afternoon Tea Party: 3 Recipes!

In 2015, I hosted a series of afternoon tea parties in the community centre where I worked. Each one had a theme, and I did a Valentine's day one. In this blog post, there are 3 recipe ideas, and presentation ideas, also: cupcake rose bouquet, chocolate dipped berries, and heart-decorated millionaire's shortbread.

2. Homemade Chocolate Box Strikes Back: 8 Flavours!

Although I had originally made this box of chocolates for Christmas, it's perfectly applicable to Valentine's day also. You could make it for your loved one, or for a social gathering. In this post are 8 chocolate ideas and ideas for presentation, but you could make any chocolate you like, even ones from the shop.

3. Ice Cream for Dessert

My blog has many ice-cream ideas, and I decided to make life easier by putting them all here in a list. They all use the 2 ingredient no-churn technique of whipping cream and condensed milk.

• Chocolate Ice-Cream
• Malted Chocolate Ice-Cream with Caramel Swirl
• Stracciatella Ice-Cream
• Coffee Ice-Cream
• Raspberry Ice-Cream
• Lemon Ice-Cream
• Caramel Ice-Cream
• Strawberry Cheesecake Ice-Cream
• Millionaire's Shortbread Ice-Cream

4. Cheesecakes

On this blog I also have a few recipes for mini cheesecakes that can be made in cake cases. Check these out for inspiration:

• Tiramisù Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)
• Peanut Butter Cup Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)
• Coconut Lime Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat-Free)
• Millionaire's Cheesecake (Wheat Free)
• Mini Black Forest Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)

5. Dairy-Free Baileys

It wouldn't be a party without some booze, right? Here is a recipe inspired by Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur, but without all the nasty dairy that you may not be able to digest.

So there you have it: a little list of things to try this Valentine's day! I will of course be working on new things over the next week.

Raspberry and Almond Cream Gȃteau (Wheat Free)

♪Happy birthday to me, 

Happy birthday to me, 

Happy birthday, dear Anna, 

Happy birthday to me!♪

Wednesday just past was my 682nd-ish birthday, and we celebrated this weekend with a family gathering. I was in college in Galway, and the family is all in Limerick, so a weekday gathering wasn't really possible. My brother came up on my actual birthday to see me, and my companion got me a little muffin with a candle on the day before because he couldn't see me on the day.

So, in order to properly celebrate, this weekend the clan gathered for a meal, followed by cake. I make my own birthday cakes usually, only because I enjoy baking. Last year for my big birthday bash, I made a strawberry cream gateau, because I particularly like that kind of cake and have had that one for a few years. But this year I thought I'd shake it up a big with some raspberries and almonds instead!

I really love cream gateaux: the combination of fluffy cake, rich cream, and fresh fruits is really pleasing. Of course, you can use any kind of berry for this, and any kind of jam. This time, I used raspberries.

I used a light and fluffy cake recipe, using the recipe I used to make the fondant fancies, but you can use any kind of plain sponge cake you like.

To make this cake you will need:

INGREDIMENTS

• Two 8 inch (22 centimetre) vanilla sponge cakes
• 9 fluid ounces (250 millilitres) fresh whipping cream
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (40 to 60 grammes) icing sugar, to taste
• 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 millilitres) vanilla essence, to taste
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) raspberry jam, seeded or strained
• About 4 ounces (115 grammes) flaked almonds
• 12 fresh raspberries

EQUIPMENT

• Cake board or serving platter
• Palette knife, or table knife
• Piping bag with a closed star nozzle, or a round nozzle
• Long serrated knife, if needed
• Balloon whisk

METHOD

• Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until firm peaks. You can use an electric whisk if you like, but I strongly recommend doing it by hand to avoid overwhipping.
• If the cakes have tall domes, level them using the serrated knife. Place one cake, cut side up, onto the board or plate.
• Spread the jam on the cake layer, then about a third of the whipping cream.
• Place the second cake on top, cut side down, and press gently to fix in place. Use half the remaining cream to coat the top and sides of the cake.
• Press the flaked almonds into the sides of the cake until completely covered. Sweep away any excess for snacking.

• Fit the piping bag with a star or round nozzle, to your preference, then fill with the remaining cream. Decorate the top edge with a border of your liking—I used a shell border—and pipe a rosette in the middle if you like.
• Decorate the top with raspberries

As with anything that uses fresh cream, this cake won't really last longer than 3 days in the fridge, and is best enjoyed on the day it is made.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie! 25 Today!

THIS TIME IN 2015: Strawberry Cream Gâteau (Wheat Free)

THIS TIME IN 2014: Lemon Ice-Cream (Egg- and Wheat Free)

Soft White Bread Rolls (Wheat-, Egg-, and Dairy Free)

There are very few things in this life that are better than freshly baked bread. And luckily, using this recipe, it can be enjoyed if you are a spelt eater

 I remember when I was a little girl, Mum used to bake delicious white bread. The excitement of watching the dough rise, then watching the loaf go into the range (yes: we had a range. I was brought up in very rural West Clare in the '90s), then watching it emerge as a delicious treat waiting to happen. When it was St. Patrick's Day, Mum used to tint the dough green, so we could have green toast. It was exactly the kind of novelty that little children revel in, especially my brother, who is called Patrick.

I'm just wondering how many other applications there are for this dough: it seems incredibly versatile. This recipe uses exactly the same bread recipe as I used to make the pork dim sum, but applied to a slightly different context. I also discovered that this bread dough can be used to make delicious thin crust pizza, but I want to experiment with deep dish pizza, which has always been a favourite of mine.
FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts
☑ Eggs
☑ Dairy

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Yeast
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For 10 small buns, or 8 medium sized buns

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 quarter-ounce (7 grammes) package of instant yeast
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) hand hot water
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sunflower oil

METHOD

First, prepare the yeast dough.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix 8 ounces (225 grammes) of the flour, the yeast, sugar, oil, and warm water together. Mix into a sticky paste, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size and very spongy in appearance.
• Once risen, remove from the oven and sieve in the rest of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and mix together by hand until fully incorporated.
• Knead in the bowl until it forms a dough ball, and until the bowl is completely clean. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead continuously for 4 minutes.
• Return the dough to the bowl, cover again, and leave to rise again for 1 to 1½ hours, or until about doubled in size.

Next, assemble and cook the rolls.

• When the dough is fully risen, take it out and gently deflate it. Gently flatten the dough into a circle, and cut the circle into 10 or 8 pieces. If you like, you can use a digital scale to be more precise with the division.
• Take each piece and wad up into a ball, keeping the surface nice and taught. Place on a floured baking tray about an inch apart, so they can grow into each other.
• Cover lightly with a piece of cling film, put back in the warm place, and proof for a further 25 to 35 minutes, until doubled in size and touching.
• While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F, Gas Mk.7), with a oven proof jug of boiled water on the bottom to make it steamy.
• When the buns are risen, sprinkle with a little bit of flour, score the tops in a cross shape, then place in the steamy preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until brown on top.
• Once cooked, allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Like with any kind of bread rolls, they are best eaten on the day they are eaten. I follow the adage: today it's bread, tomorrow it's toast, the next day it's for the birds.

However, these can be frozen raw. Once you have formed the dough balls, freeze on a tray before proofing the second time, pack them into bags once frozen, and freeze them for up to 2 weeks. When you want them, line them up on a floured tray as instructed, and allow to thaw and proof in a warm place for about 4 or 5 hours. Bake as instructed.

Caramel Macchiato Ombre Gateau (Wheat Free)

This year's creation for my eldest brother's birthday is a caramel macchiato ombre gateau!

My eldest brother's birthday is the first in the year, which is convenient for the first born, and he--like our dad--likes coffee cake. And after years and years of simple old coffee cakes, you start to crave something a little different. As for the icing, I've never done an ombre, or gradient, effect cake before, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I took my inspiration from an American coffee shop classic: the caramel macchiato. Espresso mixed with some caramel syrup, topped off with a dollop of steamed milk foam. Although I could have done some white icing rosettes on the top of this cake to represent the milk foam, I decided to stick with my two tone pallet.

Using the caramel and coffee flavours and colours, I faded the two colours together nicely for a first attempt! There are countless tutorials on YouTube for ombre icing, and there is no point in reinventing the wheel: I will trust that you will find a tutorial online that best describes the process, because explaining it in writing is actually very challenging. I tried writing a few drafts, but I just couldn't quite capture it.

I used some delicious Lavazza coffee to make the cakes, and I mixed the brewed coffee with a little instant to up the ante and give it a super coffee kick, as well as including some ground beans in the cake itself.

I made the cake at my companion's house, where he had no fudge pieces to decorate it. Luckily, there were some in my Mum's house, where the celebration was held.

FREE FROM

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

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For one large 8 inch (22 centimetre) round cake

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking soda
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) brown sugar
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) very strong coffee, either brewed or instant
• Optional: 1 level tablespoon (15 millilitres) ground coffee

For the caramel,

• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) evaporated milk, cream, lactose free cream or cream substitute
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) light brown sugar
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, or margarine
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• ¼ teaspoon (2 millilitres) salt

For the buttercream,

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sifted
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) vegetable fat, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caramel, as prepared above
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 millilitres) cream, or evaporated milk, or regular milk or milk substitute
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) boiling water

For assembly,

• Fudge or caramel sweets, cut into ¼ inch (5 millimetre) cubes

METHOD

First of all, make the caramel sauce.

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat together over medium-low heat, until all ingredients are melted and combined,
• Once you achieve a smooth mixture, raise the temperature to medium-high and cook vigorously until the consistency becomes thick and creamy. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your cooker.
• Pour into a pre-warmed bowl--to prevent the ceramic from cracking, just swish some hot water around in the bowl and tip it out--and allow to cool to room temperature, which should take about an hour or two.
• Once cool, chill in the fridge for about an hour until it becomes thick and spreadable.

While the caramel is cooling and thickening, make the cake.

• Preheat your oven to 170ºC (325ºF, Gas Mk. 3), and grease and flour an 8 inch (22 centimetre) deep round cake tin.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, using coffee instead of cocoa powder and hot water, and sifting the cornflour in with the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until fully baked and a skewer comes out clean. Cool as instructed.

For the icing,

• Dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Beat the vegetable fat until creamy with an electric mixer, then add the butter. Continue to beat until fully combined.
• Beat in 4 ounces (115 grammes) of the prepared caramel until smooth and creamy.
• Beat in half the icing sugar on a low speed until combined, then the rest of the icing sugar. Adjust the consistency with the cream, or substitute, if needed.
• Split the icing into two batches, and mix the dissolved coffee into one of the batches.

To assemble:

• Cut the dome off the cake, then slice in half horizontally. Attach the top half of the cake to its platter with a tiny smear of the filling to make the bottom layer. Spoon the remaining caramel sauce onto the cake layer and spread out with a palette knife (or butter knife) until it's about half an inch (1 centimetre) from the edge.
• Using the caramel icing, ice the whole cake with a very thin crumb coat. Chill for a full hour.
• Once chilled, you can ice in a gradient affect: ice the top normally with the caramel icing, then the top half of the sides with a very thick layer of caramel icing; you should use all of the caramel icing in this process. Ice the lower half thickly with half of the coffee icing. Then, smooth out the edges in confident strokes to create the gradient. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube about this, and watching is better than reading when it comes to these things.
• Mix the excess icing with the remaining coffee icing, place into a piping bag with a large round tip, and pipe decorations around the bottom edge and top edge of the cake.
• Sprinkle the top with the cut caramel or fudge.
• You may have some icing left over from making this cake. If so, you can use it for another project, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Coffee 'Cheesecake' Gâteau

THIS TIME IN 2015: Orange Mocha Gâteau (Wheat Free)

THIS TIME IN 2014: No-Churn, No-Cook, Practically No-Effort Chocolate Ice-Cream (That's as good as Ben & Jerry's)

Spelt Burger Buns, Brioche Style (Wheat Free)

Yayeeee!! First post of 2017!! I have an excite about it! And today, I've rustled up some burger buns.

My bread phase is still alive and kicking after the Christmas period, and myself and my companion thought we'd have some nice lamb burgers. We went to a concert this week, and had planned to stop by Dublin's Eddie Rockets restaurant to have some fine American diner food, but we hadn't timed it well enough. So, the day after we thought we'd make some burgers and chips: he made the lamb mince burgers, and made the buns.

This isn't so much as recipe as an idea for something to do with this dough recipe that I used to make the iced buns. It's a super soft dough, which is firm enough to use for brioche style burger buns. The crumb is firm and strong enough to hold a meat patty, but still soft and fluffy, like an edible pillow.

The difference is this time I used half the quantity of the original recipe, and instead of rolling the dough into fingers, I divided the dough into six equal balls and flattened them to about half an inch (1 centimetre) thick. I lightly greased and floured a flat tray, placed the dough pieces on the tray in a 2-1-2-1 pattern to they'd have soft corners, then allowed to proof until doubled in size. I preheated the oven to the same temperature as the original recipe, brushed each bun with egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I baked them for 15 minutes, turning the tray through 180 degrees halfway through cooking, until they were golden and brown.

These buns are best eaten on the day they're made, when fully cooled. The next day, they can be eaten as sandwiches. They day after, they can be eaten as toast. But after that, they're best as dog food. I wish I had taken some pictures of them as hamburger sandwiches, but it was night time and the photos didn't come out very well.

If one were to use the full recipe quantity, this would make 12 buns suitable for quarter-pounder meat patties, or 24 buns or slider burgers, which would be super cute and adorable. If you don't like sesame seeds, you can leave them off, or you could also use poppy seeds. I'd personally love to find some black sesame seeds for next time.

I bought a packet of sesame seeds from Lidl, and they had 100 gramme bags. So now I have a load of sesame seeds in my companion's cupboard. If anyone has suggestions for recipes that need lots and lots of sesame seeds, I'm all ears!

This time last year: Rondos: Almond "Fingers" (Wheat Free with a Dairy Free Option)

This time in 2015: Something Savory: Chicken and Ham Pie (Wheat Free)

This time in 2014: Oatie Biscuits (Wheat Free)

Happeeee New Year!!

Happy new year to all my readers here at Sweetie Pie Bakes stuff! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Looking forward to starting a brand new year with you all, with less depression and life altering changes.

As per usual, I will uploading all of my Christmas creations retrospectively. This year, I will try my best to have all my Christmas stuff uploaded before Christmas instead of after!

2016 was incredibly challenging: I suffered a relationship breakdown at the end of 2015; I was having trouble at home and difficulties at work; I had a relapse of depression; I moved city; I started a new relationship, started college, and the place I lived in didn't have adequate cooking facilities; I spent a large amount of my time travelling to see my family and my companion, who each lived an hour and a half away from me in opposite directions; and I then got iron-deficiency anaemia by the end of the year.

As such, my blogging halved: I went from about 65 a year, to only 33 in 2016. This year, I sat down and came up with ideas to try each month, so that every month from February I have at least 4 or 6 ideas to try. Of course as the months go on I'll come up with new ideas on top of the planned ones, which will bring up my monthly average back to normal. Just goes to show what a little planning and forethought can achieve!

This year as well, I will be moving my focus a little bit towards a more holistic approach, sharing both sweets and meals. It's good to enjoy sweets, but they are an important part of a balanced diet, and sometimes people like to learn how to cook dinners as well as desserts.

I'm really looking forward to this coming year. 2016 went from one of the worst years of my life, to one of the best, and I hope that 2017 will continue getting better!

Lots of love, Sweetie Pie xxx

Christmas Cake Decoration Idea

Merry Christmas, everyone! In this post, I'm going to provide you not with a recipe, but with a decoration idea for Christmas cake.

I have many different Christmas cake recipes on this blog, which I will list. If rich fruit cake is not something you would like, you could make a chocolate cake, or a gingerbread spiced cake. You don't need to honour tradition every year!

This year, I decorated the cake with a little Christmas tree and presents scene, using meringues and marzipan models. I started the process three days before Christmas, and used:

• One 8 inch (22 centimetre) round rich fruit cake
• Marzipan, as prepared below
• Meringue trees, as prepared below
• One 12 ounce (350 gramme) bag of instant royal icing powder
• Red, purple, blue, green, and yellow gel colouring
• Icing sugar

To make the meringue trees, I separated one medium egg into white and yolk, and kept the yolk for a different project. I whipped the egg white with a few drops of lemon juice until it became foamy, then gradually added 2 ounces (55 grammes) of white caster sugar while whipping until it reached stiff peaks. I mixed in a few drops of green colouring gel to get a delicate slightly minty green. I lined a baking tray with non-stick paper, and put the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. I piped little swirls, about an inch and a half (4 centimetres) tall, sprinkled them with coloured hundreds and thousands, and some star shaped and snowflake shaped decorations. I baked them in an oven preheated to 120°C (250°F, Gas Mk.½) for 45 minutes. When cooked, I allowed them to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I made some homemade marzipan, following this recipe but upping the almond to icing sugar ratio to 3:4, as opposed to 1:1, and adding a few extra drops of water to account for the extra sugar. I used 6 ounces (170 grammes) of ground almonds, and 8 ounces (225 grames) of icing sugar.

I rolled the marzipan to a half inch (1 centimetre) thickness, cut a circle to fit the top of the cake, and fixed it to the cake with a simple icing sugar and water glaze. Using the remaining marzipan, I divided into 5 parts, colouring each part red, purple, green, blue, and yellow. Using the marzipan, I made a selection of little presents, varying from an inch (2½ centimetres) to a quarter inch (5 millilmetres) in size, and in a few different shapes, like ovals and rectangles.

I made some royal icing (from a bag; yes, I cheated) to cover the 8 inch (22 centimetre) round fruit cake. I set aside about 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) of the icing to ice the presents, and used the rest to coat the cake. I hit the icing with the back of a metal spoon to peak it.

I arranged the trees onto the icing while it was still wet. I filled a small greaseproof icing bag with the remaining royal icing, and arranged the marzipan presents in piles, using the icing to fix them together and decorate them with a tied ribbon effect. 

After everything was fixed to the cake, I sprinkled everything lightly with some icing sugar, to simulate some now.

Here are some more photographs of the finished cake:

 

 

THIS TIME IN 2015: Gingerbread Pandas (Wheat Free with a Dairy Free Option)
THIS TIME IN 2014: A Multitude of Different Kinds of Fudge [Back Dated]
THIS TIME IN 2013: No blog

Something Savoury: 叉燒包, or BBQ Pork Dim Sum (Wheat-, Egg-, and Dairy Free)

My experimentations with yeast continue today, with a foray into actual food as opposed to sweets. I present to you, some delicious pork dim sum!

When I was in Birmingham in November, my companion and I went to a restaurant in the city's Chinese district. This wasn't a Westernised Chinese restaurant with gloopy sauces and egg fried rice with everything, this was a restaurant ran by Chinese people. catering for Chinese people, with the menus in their own language. There was an English section at the front of the menu for us 鬼佬 people, but the better food was at the back.

My companion told me that the last time he went to this restaurant he ordered some steamed bread buns with a barbecue pork filling. I went with his recommendation, and was not disappointed. I had no idea what they were, or what their name was, but I was thoroughly impressed.

When I returned home to Ireland and told my brother about them, he responded enthusiastically. He told me he had eaten the same thing when he was in Hong Kong, and had thought they were absolutely delicious, and pretty much the highlight of his visit. He said he'd go back there again in the future just to eat those buns.

I decided, as such, to do some research. Turns out that Cantonese cuisine is full of recipes for small buns, filled or not, made from yeast leavened dough and steamed instead of baked. These morsels are called dim sum, and there are many kinds. The ones that my brother had had in Hong Kong, and my companion and I had had in Birmingham, were filled with pork and barbecue style sauce, and called 叉烧包, or char siu bao in the Latin alphabet.

Armed with this knowledge, I typed the name into YouTube and proceeded to watch hours upon hours of videos about making these buns. It seems there is no one prescribed way to make the dough, or the filling, but in every video they are folded and cooked in the exact same way.

Two things all the dough recipes had in common though, were the inclusion of baking powder in addition to yeast, and using what's called a sponge. This is where the mixture is made very loosely with only some of the dough—and absolutely no kneading—before the first rising. After the sponge has risen, the rest of the flour is added and then the dough is kneaded and risen as usual in a bread dough. This makes for super soft, and super light dough.

So, let's make some actual dinner!

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts
☑ Eggs
☑ Dairy

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Yeast
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For 16 small buns, or 12 large buns

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 quarter-ounce (7 grammes) package of instant yeast
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) hand hot water
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sunflower oil

For filling

• 12 fluid ounces (330 millilitres) diet cola drink
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) tomato ketchup
• 4 teaspoons (20 millilitres) dark soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons (20 millilitres) white vinegar, to taste
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) Chinese five spice powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) ground mixed spice
• About 10 ounces (about 300 grammes) roasted pork, cut into tiny cubes (pork is sold in different pack sizes so if it's in and around this figure it'll be fine)
• Half a red onion, chopped very finely
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) cornflour, dissolved in 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) cold water

METHOD
First, prepare the yeast dough.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix 8 ounces (225 grammes) of the flour, the yeast, sugar, oil, and warm water together. Mix into a sticky paste, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size and very spongy in appearance.
• Once risen, remove from the oven and sieve in the rest of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and mix together by hand until fully incorporated.
• Knead in the bowl until it forms a dough ball, and until the bowl is completely clean. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead continuously for 4 minutes.
• Return the dough to the bowl, cover again, and leave to rise again for 1 to 1½ hours, or until about doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, make the filling.

• In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the meat, onion, and cornflour mix. Mix until blended and smooth, then heat over a high flame. Bring to a boil, and cook vigorously until the mixture has reduced by about three quarters into a thick syrupy sauce. This could take up to half an hour.
• In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) of cooking oil, and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the meat, and heat through in the pan.
• Add the sauce mixture and toss the meat and onions until completely coated. Add the cornflour and cook until the sauce thickens. 
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before using.

Next, assemble and cook the buns.

• When the dough is fully risen, take it out and gently deflate it. Gently knead back into a dough ball, then cut into 12 or 16 equal pieces, depending on how big you want your buns. I cut mine into 12, and the final buns were about the size of a small apple. You can make smaller ones for appetisers, if you like.
• Flour the work surface sparingly, and a rolling pin, and roll each dough ball into a circle, keeping the other dough balls covered with a damp tea towel so the don't crust. Make sure the outside edge of the circle—maybe about an inch (2 centimetres) or so—is thinner to allow for shaping and pinching.
• Put a heaped teaspoonful of filling into the circle, then form into a little bun following these instructions. In this case, a video speaks a thousand words.
• Put the buns into paper cake cases, and cover them with the damp cloth while you heat the steamer.
• Set up your steamer according to its instructions, or simply place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, fill it with about an inch of water, cover, and bring to the boil.
• Put three or four buns at a time into the steamer, making sure there is plenty of space for them to grow, cover, and steam on medium for 10 to 12 minutes.
• When cooked, carefully take the buns out, cases and all. It helps to momentarily take the pan off the heat, and use a spatula. Allow to cool or 2 or 3 minutes before serving. 

If you don't eat all of them, allow them to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate in an airtight box for up to 3 days. These will also freeze well for up to a month, I am told. To reheat, simply re-steam for about 5 minutes, or until heated all the way through.

I've Finally Cracked It! Working with Yeast and Spelt: Iced Finger Buns (Wheat Free, with Dairy Free Option)

UPDATE 05/05/2017: I slightly altered the dough preparation method, introducing a sponge technique to help dissolve the yeast, and properly gauge the amount of flour and liquid needed.

I've done it. I've finally done it. I have succeeded after years of trying: I have at long last cracked the code to making dough with yeast and spelt! So many years of failed attempts... I'm so relieved.

So, I decided to celebrate by making a tasty batch of lovely iced finger buns! A little taste of childhood for my siblings and I.

There is nothing quite as English as spreading a load of icing on top of a piece of bread. I don't quite know why, but it fairly accurately sums up the spirit of the British approach to eating. And to make them, you need a nice, soft, pillowy bread recipe.

So what has my difficulty been with spelt and yeast? I've mentioned many times over the years, more than I can count at this stage, that spelt and yeast don't mix well. This was a believe I had formulated as a result of countless failed attempts at making yeast leavened dough with spelt flour instead of wheat flour. I thought the problem was the flour. Turns out the problem has been the yeast and the fermentation process all these years.

Ireland doesn't have a very warm climate: it has a wet, damp, humid, mostly freezing cold climate. None of these is conducive to:

1. Fermentation
Yeast needs a nice warm environment to grow in. It is indeed a living organism, a tiny little mushroom creature, that needs to be warm, well fed, and hydrated to perform like it should. I obviously haven't been getting my dough proving at the right temperature of humidity all these years, because the dough has never risen.

or 2. Yeast Lifespan
Cold damp houses aren't nice places for yeast to live. I'd say more times than not over the last few years, I've used yeast that has probably already perished under such inhospitable conditions.

I bought some new yeast, some new flour, and attempted to make yeast dough again. I summed up the courage to attempt it again, even though it may have failed miserably. This time, I was not disappointed.

I had formulated the recipe by cross referencing a load of recipes together, inspired mostly by the Korean doughnuts and dinner rolls of Maangchi, and by the iced bun recipe of The Great British Bake Off's Paul Hollywood. I also followed some recommendations online about how liquid behaves differently with wheat flour and spelt flour. Armed with this knowledge, I formulated the recipe below.

I made sure the dough had a lovely house to live in while fermenting: the oven, with the heat turned off but the light left on, with a bowl of boiled water on the bottom shelf to make it nice and steamy. This made the dough rise perfectly! I was amazed: the dough looked, and smelled, incredible. Look at all those bubbills!!

Although I had a little hiccup with the oven, where the element was broken and I had to improvise with the fan assisted grill setting, they baked wonderfully! The rolls were exquisitely soft and springy on cooling, and had a deliciously present yeasty flavour. 

The butter, sugar, and eggs keep the bread soft, but not too sickly sweet or rich. In fact, I think they'd make nice hot dog rolls if the mixture were slightly re-purposed.

See the lovely soft sides, and delicious texture within? I know I'm totally fangirling over this bread right now, but I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally have a successful spelt bread attempt.

So, without any further ado, after almost four years of blogging, I present to you a recipe for soft spelt bread.

FREE FROM

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

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Yeast
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For 16 small buns, or 12 large buns

• 1 pound (455 grammes) white spelt flour, plus some for dusting
• 2 quarter-ounce (7 gramme) packages of dry active yeast
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) salt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs, room temperature
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) hand-hot milk
• 2 or 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 millilitres) warm water, to adjust the texture if needed
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine

For icing,

• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) butter, or margarine
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) icing sugar
• 2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 millilitres) hot water
• Optional: Food colourings and essences

METHOD

First, prepare the yeast dough.

• In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, milk, salt, and eggs. Mix in the yeast, and then add in half of the flour to make a paste. If it is too dry, add more milk or water, and if it is too wet, add some more flour. It should be like a gluey paste, not a cake or pancake mixture.
• Allow this mixture to sit for about 20 minutes, or until it starts to rise and bubble. If you like, you can allow to it rise until doubled, which will save kneading time.
• Add in rest of the flour, a little at a time, to form a dough. You can use your hands, or a wooden spoon. You may not need to add all the flour, or you may need to add some more. Bread making is not an exact science: sometimes room humidity, or even the brand of flour, can change the consistency.
• Once you achieve a dough, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and tacky, almost sticky.
• Then, knead in the soft butter. It will take another 3 or 5 minutes to knead in the butter, and once you're done it should be a lovely soft, supple, tacky (but not sticky) dough.
• Clean out the bowl and grease it lightly. Roll the dough into a ball and put in the bowl, tossing a few times to coat it in oil.
• Cover with clingfilm, then a tea towel, and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours to at least double in size. I put mine in the oven, turned off, with the oven light on, and a bowl of hot water on the bottom shelf to make a nice warm, humid atmosphere. 

Now, make the fingers.

• Grease and flour a 13 by 9 inch (33 by 22 centimetre) flat baking tray.
• Once risen and puffed full of air, gently deflate and turn out onto the work surface. Only use a dusting of flour if it's sticking.
• Divide the dough into 16 pieces, and roll each piece into a rectangle about 4 inches (10 centimetres) wide; the length doesn't matter. Roll them up like little Swiss rolls.
• Place the rolls on the baking tray about an inch (2 centimetres) apart to allow for rising. You want them to rise into each others' sides to get nice soft sides.
• Drape a clean tea towel or the clingfilm from earlier over the rolls and place back in the warm place and leave for 45 minutes to an hour, until once again at least doubled in size.
• Preheat your oven to 220ºC (425ºF, Gas Mk.7 or 8), then bake the rolls on the centre shelf for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown on top and well risen.
• Turn the buns out, still attached to one another, onto a wire rack to cool completely before pulling apart.

I used two trays because I didn't have one big enough. 

And yes, there are 14. I miscounted my doughballs.

Once fully cool, ice the fingers.

• Mix together the icing sugar, butter, and half of the water until a smooth icing is formed. You may need to add more water to make it nice and spreadable.
• Spread about a rounded teaspoon of icing onto each roll and spread it across the top with the blunt side of a table knife, or a palette knife.
• If you like, you can decorate the tops with sprinkles, hundreds and thousands, sweets, or grated chocolate.

I decorated mine with some coffee flavoured icing, and some plain icing in white and pink. Look forward to more experiments with spelt bread in the future, but for now make these and enjoy them for up to two days, as long as they're kept airtight.

Death by Coffee: for Those Who Prefer Coffee Cake to Chocolate Cake, like Me (Wheat Free)

Chocolate cake is nice, and I like it as much as the next woman, but in my opinion there is something tastier: coffee cake!

I find the flavour of coffee a little more nuanced and interesting than chocolate. There's something slightly bitter and sharp about it, in comparison to chocolate which is a little smoother and rounder tasting. Coffee makes for more interesting flavour pairings, too.

My Dad concurs: coffee cake is his favourite, too. Which is why I look forward every year to making his birthday cake.

I think my fondness comes from a delight in traditional Irish bakery coffee cakes. There's something about their naff margarine buttercream and crunched up nuts or digestive biscuits on the sides that just speaks to me. The local bakery, before I was taken on by new management, used to make a fabulously naff coffee cake that I would buy every time I had a few extra euros at the end of the week.

I know I've done lots of coffee cake recipes before—on account of it being my favourite—but this one is slightly different: this cake uses the same recipe as my recent American style Devil's Food Cake, but uses coffee instead of hot water and cocoa powder. This makes for a super soft, fluffy, and moist cake.

So, let's get started!

FREE FROM

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

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For one large 8 inch (22 centimetre) round cake

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking soda
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) brown sugar
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) strong coffee, either brewed or instant

For the buttercream,

• 1 pound (455 grammes) icing sugar, sifted
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) vegetable fat, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) boiled water
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

For assembly,

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) boiled water
• 12 chocolate coffee beans, or other chocolate decoration

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 170ºC (325ºF, Gas Mk. 3), and grease and flour an 8 inch (22 centimetre) deep round cake tin.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, using coffee instead of cocoa powder and hot water, and sifting the cornflour in with the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until fully baked and a skewer comes out clean. Cool as instructed.

For the icing,

• Dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Beat the vegetable fat until creamy with an electric mixer, then add the butter. Continue to beat until fully combined.
• Beat in half the icing sugar on a low speed, then the coffee, then the rest of the icing sugar. Adjust the consistency with some milk or water if needed.

To assemble:

• Cut the dome off the cake, then slice in half horizontally. Attach the top half of the cake to its platter with a tiny smear of the filling to make the bottom layer. Spoon a third of the icing onto the bottom layer, spread out with a palette knife (or butter knife) until it's about half an inch (1 centimetre) from the edge.
• Place the bottom half of the cake on top upside down, so the flat surface is not the top of the cake. Press gently to glue together, and chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up.
• Reserve about half of the remaining icing for piping, and use the other half to ice the side of the cake. Ice a one inch (2 centimetre) border around the top of the cake also.
• Make some glacé icing by dissolving the coffee in the water, and mix it into the icing sugar with enough hot water to make a running consistency. Ice the top of the cake up to the border. Allow to crust.
• Using the remaining icing, pipe 12 rosettes around the edge, one in the centre, and a shell border around the foot of the cake. Decorate with some chocolate sweets, or chocolate coffee beans.
• Allow to set for about an hour before serving.

Here, in this picture, you can see the consistency of the cake itself: fluffy and rich and moist and nomnomnom... I could have eaten this whole thing. It is to be enjoyed, however, in small portions, and will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. So, practise some restraint.

I'm in England! Back Next Week

Hi all!

I'm in Birmingham with week, meeting my lovely companion's family and friends in his homeland. Birmingham city is cool: very modern, with great retail facilities, and is very historical. Northampton, where his friends are, is also very nice: it's about the same size of Limerick. We passed through Rugby, too, which looks like a typical English semi-rural town. It's been educational!

Next week when I return, it'll be my Daddy's birthday, and I will have pictures of kek!

Love and hugs,

Sweetie-Pie xxx