Sunday 26 January 2014

Cinnamon Buns

Slightly changed, the recipe comes from this website.


Ingredients (for around 20 buns, depending on size):
  • 20g of fresh yeast
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2 glasses of flour
  • 1/2 glass of milk
  • 1 egg
  • 63g of melted, cooled down butter
  • pinch of salt

Filling:
  • 70-80g of melted butter
  • 1/3-1/2 glass of brown sugar
  • few teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Optional filling ingredients:
  • raisins

Preparation:
  1. Take a bowl, put yest, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour and half of the milk, stir, to prepare a leaven and put aside in a warm place, for around 15 minutes (it needs to double its size).
  2. During that time, melt 63g of butter and cool down a little.
  3. Take another bowl, put remaining flour, salt, egg and the rest of milk and sugar inside. Add the leaven. Knead for around 10 minutes, till smooth. 
  4. Add milk and knead again till it stops sticking to a hand. Put aside in a warm place, so that it doubles its size again (it may take more time than previously).
  5. During that time, melt the butter for the filling.
  6. Take a baking tray, put baking paper on it. Put aside.
  7. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Take a rolling pin and roll out (using only a little flour) the first piece. Distibute the butter all over, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and opitionally raisins.
  8. Roll up (tight, tube shape) and cut into 3-4 cm pieces.
  9. Put every piece gently on previously prepared baking tray, leaving some space between every bun, cause they will grow up.
  10. Bake for 10-15 minutes in 180C.
  11. Bon appetit! ;)

Saturday 25 January 2014

Pumpkin muffins

During such cruelly cold weather there is nothing better than a comfortable chair, mug with steaming tea(or cocoa ;) ) and.... something sweet and tasty, for the pleasure... like these muffins ;) These are one of my naphew's favourites :) Not really difficult to prepare, aaand the feeling of guilt because of eating something sweet, especially in the evening is smaller, because it's made of pumpkins... and pumpkins are healthy, aren't they? ;)
Also, with no regret or sadness that the pumpkin season is over - you can easily use tinned pumpkin :)
The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:
  • 50g of butter
  • 1/3 glass of brown sugar
  • 1/3 glass if white sugar
  • 1,5 glass of flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon if nutmeg
  • A pinch if salt
  • 1/4 glass if oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 200g of tinned pumpkin pieces
  • 1 jar of plum jam


    Top(optional):
    • plum jam
    • powdered sugar
    • whipped cream
    • caramel

    Preparation:
    1. Take the tinned pumpkin. Drain it off and smash, using for example a blender.
    2. Take a mixer's bowl. Put chopped butter, brown and white sugar inside. Put aside.
    3. Take a bowl, put flour, baking powder and baking soda inside. Add cinnamonn, nutmeg and salt. Mix precisely.
    4. Mix butter and sugars for around 2-3 minutes. After that time, gradually start adding oil, mixing all the time. 
    5. Continue mixing, add one egg, when it links, add another. 
    6. Add pumpkin puree, mix till smooth.
    7. Add bowl with flour and spices, mix till everything links.
    8. Put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
    9. At the end of that 1 hour's time, start preheating the oven to 180C.
    10. Take a muffin tin, grease it or put paper muffin cases inside.
    11. Put some of the dough inside every paper case (preferably not more than 3/4 of the paper case).
    12. Put in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, till muffins grow and turn gold.
    13. Cool down... or not, but be careful not to burn yourself ;)
    14. Bon Appetit! :)

    Thursday 23 January 2014

    Mascarpone Pancakes

    That's a very tasty idea, for instance for those of you who don't eat meat on friday or enjoy eating something cruelly sweet while drinking coffee ;)

    Ingredients:

    Pancakes:
    • 160g of flour
    • 300ml of 3,2% milk
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 tablespoon of sugar
    • 16g of vanilla sugar
    • pinch of salt
    • 30g of melted, cooled down butter

    Filling (optional):
    • 250g of mascarpone cheese + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
    • chocolate and caramel sauces
    • almonds
    • fruit

    Preparation:
    1. Take a mixer and its bowl. 
    2. Put flour, milk, eggs, sugars and salt inside, mix till smooth.
    3. Add melted butter, mix till smooth again. Put aside.
    4. Take another bowl. Put mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar inside. Mix with a fork or spoon, gently, a little.
    5. Take a quite big frying pan(flat one, preferably), grease it with oil, and using a paper towel, distribute the oil on the entire frying pan.
    6. Turn on the heat so that it heats up.
    7. Put some dough on the pan and distribute it immidiately on the entire frying pan, to make a thin pancake.
    8. Fry for few minutes on both sides.
    9. Put the pancake on a plate.
    10. Distribute mascarpone mixture on the entire pancake surface. Add caramel sauce.
    11. Fold the sides of the pancake, then its bottom and at the end the top.
    12. Overturn. Decorate with chocolate sauce, almonds, fruit.
    13. Bon Appetit!

    Wednesday 22 January 2014

    Bajadera

    Bajadera. What is it? Well - that's a fantastic, last second idea which always works, always tastes delicious as it is chocolate sweet, soft and moist. 
    I do recommend, especially when you have no time and your oven is tired as it is a non-baking recipe ;)
    But - if You have time and enjoy baking, decorating, creating sweet wonders - see also Bajadera Reindeers.
    Quite changed recipe comes from this website.


    Ingredients:
    • 400g of dried pound cake (preferably lemon or vanilla flavoured)
    • 120g of mascarpone cheese
    • 80g of nutella
    • 350g of milk chocolate
    • favourite mincemeat (including for example nuts, almonds; or  baking cocoa)
    • some plastic small sticks
    • sprinkles for decoratation

    Optional ingredients:
    • 10-25ml of Rum
    • dried fruit - but in very small pieces

    Preparation:
    1. If your pound cake isn't dried enough, it is a good idea to crumble it into very small pieces and put it in the preheated oven(over 180C) for a couple of minutes.
    2. Take a mixer and it's bowl. Put mascarpone cheese and nutella inside. Mix till smooth.
    3. Put dried pound cake to the bowl and mix everything till smooth. 
    4. Here is the time to add and mix optional ingredients if desired.
    5. Cover with foil and cool down in the freezer for 45 minutes.
    6. During that time, prepare a rectangular bakewell pan or loaf tin or - something that you can put in your freezer. Put some baking paper on its bottom.
    7. Take the dough out from the freezer and start making small balls, put each of them in previously prepared pan/tin.
    8. Put back in the freezer for another 30 minutes.
    9. During that time prepare small paper muffin cases and sprinkles around you.
    10. Also, take a pot, put chocolate (in small pieces) inside and melt on a very low heat.
    11. Take one ball from the freezer, dip 1/3 of a stick inside a ball and dip in the chocolate, so that it covers the entire ball, take out from the chocolate, wait till the excess of chocolate falls down.
    12. As the ball is very cold, the chocolate will stiffen on it very fast, so as soon as you take it out from the chocolate pot, take out the stick, put it on a muffin case and decorate.
    13. Store finished bajaderas in the fridge.
    14. Bon Appetit! ;)