My forays into breadmaking are rare, and rarely very successful. Perhaps this will change now that I have a Kitchenaid to help me with the kneading?
This was a recipe I had saved in my google reader for several months, waiting for the right occasion to make it. One cool weekend I made a big batch of soup, and I thought these rolls would be the perfect side. Fortunately I was right. They kept quite well also, with J enjoying them for the next few days.
You’ll see in the picture that I may have browned them slightly more than I should have. They weren’t quite burnt but they were on the cusp. One day I will work out this oven! They actually work very well quite browned, it gives them a nice crunch on the outside whilst remaining soft and forgiving on the inside.
The recipe I used is from here. It is a vegan version, but I simply de-veganised it by using 2 tbs of butter instead of the Earth Balance, and an egg instead of the egg replacer.
Next time, I’d like to try using half wholemeal flour. I’m reluctant to use only wholemeal flour as the few times I’ve tried the final product has the texture and density of a brick. If anyone knows how to avoid this please let me know!
If you ever want to give me a gift (unlikely though that might be!) a surefire winner is always a cookbook. However, my bookshelf might have other ideas…
This recipe is adapted from a cute book J’s parents gave me after a recent trip to the Northern Territory: “Scrumptious Recipes from The Beanie Festival Teashop”.
It contains classic recipes, most of which are cakes, slices or pies and all of which look delicious. This one is really delicious.
I adapted this from the original recipe, which used cashew nuts. Pecans are one of my favourite nuts; they are grown in Australia and are in season at the moment. I think the marriage of pecans and maple syrup works wonderfully well.
The other beauty of this recipe is it’s very simple; there are really only two steps. You will need a set of electric beaters.
The cake is wonderful served warm (but not fresh from the oven, as the sugar will be exceptionally hot!) with a dollop of icecream. It makes a lot of cake – so I recommend making it when you’re having friends over if you like being able to see your toes past your stomach.
Details
15 min
60 min
1 h, 15 min
Ingredients
- 90 grams Butter
- 100 grams Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Maple syrup
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 125 grams Butter
- 150 grams Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup SR flour
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Mixed spice (I just used cinnamon and nutmeg)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons Maple syrup
Directions
- Preheat oven to 180 *.
- Grease and line a loaf tin.
- Make the topping first by beating 90g of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2 tbs of maple syrup until smooth.
- Spread the topping over the base of the pan.
- Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
- Make the cake by beating everything else together on a low speed until combined.
- Then beat on a medium speed until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the mixture over the topping and bake for about an hour.
- Stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Best served fresh and warm.
Recently I’ve been dabbling in the world of bread baking. I’ve had a few failures, a few successes and a few in-between. I’ve yet to hit upon a failsafe and foolproof recipe that I can rely on for a consistent result.
This one was a success by all accounts (I made three loaves and shared the love around) and I’m sure I’ll make it again. However, it is a very sweet bread, which I think limits is usefulness as a staple. I’m now on the hunt for a reliable wholewheat/partially wholewheat or wholegrain bread recipe.
The recipe I used can be found here. It makes three decent sized sandwich loaves and is great fresh from the oven and smeared with a little butter.
We had friends over for dinner last night for a hearty meal of t-bone steak with sage, mushroom and kale risotto and roasted beetroot and onion salad.
For dessert we enjoyed a plum pie, served with whipped cream. It was a lovely night of good food, good wine and good company.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
- 2 tbsps milk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsps flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsps cold unsalted butter
- 12 whole Ripe plums, pitted and sliced thickly (quarters is about right)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to about 210* celsius (425* F).
- Mix together the first 3 ingredients in an 8-inch square baking tin (note, the tin doesn't need to be pre-greased).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk and almond extract.
- Pour the liquid into the flour mixture, and gently mix with a fork, making sure not to overwork it. It will come together quite quickly into a moist, but not sticky, dough.
- Use your fingers to spread the dough out over the tin fairly evenly. It should cover the bottom of the pan and come up the sides (but not all the way up).
- In another bowl, combine the remaining sugar, flour and salt, and then pinch the butter into the mixture. Keep pinching until it is fully worked through the flour.
- Arrange your plums on top of the pastry. They should be closely packed together with no big gaps. Sprinkle your butter/flour mixture evenly over the plums. They should be well covered.
- Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes (mine took about 40), until the top is shiny and bubbling and the crust is light brown.
- Cool and serve.
This was such a quick dessert to make, and a great introduction to pastry for people like me who are slightly fearful of it!
05.09.11 | 
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