Quick Raspberry Cream Cheese Brioche Ring

This recipe (from Cook's Illustrated) looks long and time consuming but it's really simple and would make a great Sunday morning breakfast treat. Cream cheese is one of my favorite ingredients. This brioche ring reminds me a bit of a sweet cheese danish. Both the dough and the filling are made in the food processor. A push of a button and you get rewarded with pillowy soft brioche with minimal effort.

Quick Brioche Dough
Makes 1 ring | Cooks Illustrated Sept/Oct 1995

1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (about 110 degrees)
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

1. In small bowl, whisk yeast into milk, then stir in 1 cup of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and salt in workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse at 1-second intervals, scraping sides of bowl several times, until mixture is soft and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and process after each addition until fully incorporated (even though mixture may look curdled). Add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and yeast mixture from step 1, scraping sides of workbowl with rubber spatula. Pulse at 1-second intervals to form soft, smooth dough. Then process continu-ously for 15 seconds.

3. Turn dough (sticky at this point) out onto generously floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make filling (below).

4. Shaping: Roll the chilled dough into an 8-by-18-inch rectangle. Spread the dough evenly with raspberry jam and cream cheese filling, leaving a 1 1/2" border on the long side farthest from you. Beginning at the long side nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Transfer the cylinder, seam side down and coiling it to fit, onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silicone liner. Cover with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Mark the cylinder top at 1 1/2" intervals, then use scissors to cut almost, but not quite all the way through the cylinder. Turn each piece of dough, cut side up. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

5. While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the ring until it is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle with a simple icing sugar and milk icing if desired.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling
Makes enough for 1 ring

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour

1 cup raspberry jam

1. Process cream cheese with sugar in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; pulse until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls

I have been wanting to make my own spring rolls for a while now and I finally tackled this project over the long weekend. When I was looking for recipes I ran into the issue of egg rolls versus spring rolls. Are they the same thing?

From what I've read, the difference basically comes down to the wrappers. Egg rolls use a slightly thicker wrapper made with egg versus the paper-thin rice paper wrappers of spring rolls. They are also more substantial, often containing meat (ground pork) whereas spring rolls traditionally are packed solely with vegetables. The last twist is that spring rolls and egg rolls are fried but their cousin, the summer roll, is not. I felt adventurous so I also made some Summer Rolls for a nice, light lunch. Check out this post coming soon.

I adapted this recipe from Rasa Malaysia and Recipezaar. I was happy with the results but the key recommendation I would make is to TASTE IT as you go so the filling is perfectly seasoned the way you like it before you roll and fry.



Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls
Makes 24 - 5" rolls

Filling:
4 cups (approx 1/3) green cabbage, chopped into thin pieces
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 cup (approx 4) fresh shiitake mushrooms, julienned (or rehydrated dried shiitakes)
1 cup (approx 4) button mushrooms, julienned or 1 cup extra firm tofu cubed
1 cup (approx 5) green onions, chopped
1 cup (approx 1) carrot, grated

Sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chinese rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cornstarch

spring roll wrappers
water
oil for deep frying

1. Combine all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Heat some vegetable oil, about 2 tbsp, in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté your vegetables in the hot oil until quite soft. Push the veggies to the side of the pan and add your sauce. Toss to coat and continue cooking until veggies are fully cooked and sauce is well distributed throughout. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like.

3. Lay the spring roll wrapper with one of the corners facing you and spoon in 1/4 cup filling. Lightly moisten all 4 corners of the wrapper with a dab of water. Fold the bottom point over the filling, fold in the two sides and roll up (like a burrito). Set aside until all of them are rolled and you're ready to fry. (I lay them on a silicone mat covered loosely with a towel so they don't dry out).

4. In a deep fryer or in a heavy pot, heat 2" of canola oil to 375 degrees F. Deep fry spring rolls in small batches for 3-4 minutes. You don't need very long because all you are doing is crisping the wrappers since the filling is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Serve with plum sauce or soy sauce.

**These refrigerate/freeze well. Just zap for a few seconds in the microwave to heat then re-crisp in the oven.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Refreshing, light and fast to assemble (once you've got the ingredients all prepped). Plus, any excuse to eat this sweet-salty-spicy peanut sauce by the spoonful gets 2 thumbs up from me! These may not be 100% authentic but they're yummy!

For a shortcut this recipe uses a ready-to-eat shrimp cocktail ring but feel free to cook your own shrimp instead. Have all your ingredients ready and easily accessible when you start to roll. Store the rolls without them touching as they will stick together. Place a damp paper towel in the bottom of the container to keep the rolls moist. Cover with moistened paper towel and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.

Little tidbit of info: Summer rolls are the lighter, healthier cousin of spring rolls except they are not deep-fried and they are served cold. They are also known as Salad rolls. Also check out my blog post following this one for the deep-fried spring roll type.





Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Makes 16

1/2 shrimp cocktail ring
1 cup chopped imitation crab
2 ounces dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli
16 (8-1/4") round rice paper wrappers
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup julienned seeded cucumber, peeled
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup (2 large) scallions, sliced
4 lettuce leaves, cut in thin strips
Peanut Sauce, for dipping

1. Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Clear a work surface such as a large wooden cutting board for rolling the summer rolls, and prepare a pan that is roomy enough to hold the finished rolls in a single layer. Place all filling ingredients in separate containers and arrange them in the following order around the work surface: rice paper wrappers, shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, cucumber, scallions, and lettuce.
3. Fill a wide, shallow dish large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers with hot water. Evenly submerge one wrapper for about 30 seconds, or until it is soft and pliable. Remove from the water and place on the work surface.
4. Working quickly, lay 3 shrimp in a row just above the center of the wrapper. Layer all the remaining ingredients (except peanut sauce) on top, careful not to over-fill. Just a little of each ingredient in each roll.
5. Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. Holding it firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire pile up to close the top.
6. Turn each roll so that the seam faces downward and the row of shrimp faces up. Serve with Peanut Sauce (below).

Peanut Sauce
Makes 3/4 cup

1/2 cup peanut butter – either smooth or crunchy
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (or extra 2 tsp brown sugar)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 tsp chilli sauce (sri racha)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to combine, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. This can be prepared in advance and tastes even better a day later. Bring to room temperature before serving.

TWD: Chocolate Almond Bundt Cake

It feels like Monday today rather than Tuesday. Long weekends have a way of messing with my internal clock and it always takes me a little while to slide back into routine. No complaints though - it was an awesome weekend. Beautiful sun for most of the weekend meant we got to go bike/tricycle riding in the park. However, it did snow unexpectedly for a few hours on Saturday night but didn't stick.

This is honestly one of the most delicious bundt cakes I have had in a while. It was so moist and it sliced beautifully. It reminded me of a pound cake. Instead of walnuts I used almonds and was very pleased with the almond-roca flavor I got. The only change I would recommend is to omit the 2 tbsp butter used when melting the chocolate. It's not needed and I even found some of the chocolate swirl parts a little oily because of it.

This week's fun-to-bake (and even more fun-to eat) pick was by Erin of When in doubt... Leave it at 350, found on p.180-181 of Dorie Greenspan's book - Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Cafe Style Best Ever Banana Bread -

At age 15, I landed my first job working in a café. It was the perfect place for me. I have always loved baking and this couldn't have been a better fit. I miss those days. My co-workers were an amazing group of people and we often hung out outside of work. There were just a handful of us working there and it was extremely busy but very rewarding.

I have gotten some great recipes for café food - wraps, sandwiches, pastas, baked goodies. One of the best sellers was this banana bread. We used to mix 6-loaf batches of it by hand. I must have built some serious arm muscles doing that, let me tell you! I'm glad I have Kitchen Aid mixer now to help me out.

Even if you already have your favorite "go-to" banana bread recipe, I still urge you to try this one out. It's extremely moist, full of banana flavor with a beautiful deep brown color and slightly crisp top crust. I like to slice it, wrap each slice in saran wrap and freeze it to be thrown into lunchbags later in the week.

One bite of this brings back fond memories and a whole lot of nostalgia for me. My only regret is that I am not in touch with these girls. I often wonder where their lives have taken them and if they too think back on those days with a smile on their faces. I wonder if they still make this banana bread!



Best Ever Banana Bread
1 loaf

2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed bananas
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and bananas.
3.Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir in nuts/chocolate. Mix well.
4.Pour into prepared pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Cupcakes - Happy Easter!

We're just getting ready to go for a pancake breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt at my son's preschool. Right now as I type this he's pretending to be a little chicken making peep-peep noises on the bed beside me.

I just bought the Martha Stewart Cupcake book from Costco - only $15.99 - so of course I used any excuse to make some cupcakes. (I also bought the companion cookie book too because I couldn't resist). This is the first recipe I've tried and I'm pleased that they turned out moist, chocolatey but not too sweet. These One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes turned out light and fluffy. It seems like cupcake stores are popping up everywhere I turn. 2 new ones just opened up in our local mall. $3-5 for one little cupcake - yikes!

Happy Easter everyone!

Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter everyone! We have 4 day weekend ahead! All the more time and excuse to bake. I'm so excited! These buns were a kick-off to my long weekend. There's nothing

According to the Oxford Companion to Food, marking a cross on the bun is of ancient origin and bread is often associated with religious offerings. The Egyptians offered small round cakes, marked with a representation of the horns of an ox, to the goddess of the moon. The Saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honour of the goddess of light, Eostre, whose name was transferred to Easter. Today, the cross on the bun is associated with Christianity and signifies the crucifixion.

Hot cross buns are round, rich, slightly sweet and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and/or cloves. They also include dried fruit such as currants, raisins, mixed peel and/or candied fruit but more modern version sometimes include chocolate or dried cranberries and other add-ins.

The cross can be put on the bun a few different ways such as marking it with narrow strips of pastry or with a thick paste made of flour and water before baking. The cross can also be piped on after baking with a simple icing made of icing sugar and milk.

The recipe I used is from Anna Olson and it makes a nice, soft dough that can be made in a mixer, with beaters or by hand. I used my mixer since i doubled the batch to give away to friends and co-workers.



Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12 | Anna Olson

Buns:
1 tablespoon instant dry active yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
1 large egg
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup diced candied orange peel
1/4 cup candied cherries
1/4 cup diced candied pineapple

Crosses:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup water

Hot Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk

1. Buns
In a mixer fitted with the hook attachment or with hand mixer with the dough attachments combine yeast, sugar and milk. Alternatively mix by hand in large bowl. Stir in egg. Add flour, spices, salt and melted butter. Once ingredients are blended add raisins and candied fruits.

With mixer, knead for 5 minutes on low speed or mix for 8 minutes by hand (a large wooden spoon works best). Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, turn out dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece gently to shape in a ball and place in a 10-inch greased springform pan. Cover pan with a tea towel and let rest 20 minutes.

2. Crosses
For crosses, blend flour and water until smooth and spoon into piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe crosses on top of each bun. Alternatively, instead of using a batter, cut an X on the top of each bun with a sharp knife.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 35 minutes, until buns are a deep brown colour.

3. Hot Glaze
While buns are still hot, prepare glaze. Heat sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Poke holes in buns with a skewer and brush warm glaze over buns, allowing glaze to soak in.

4. Icing
For icing, combine icing sugar and milk and whisk until smooth. Drizzle crosses over buns. If piping the crosses with batter, adding the icing is optional.

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's the last day of March! The first quarter of the year is already gone. Time flies when you're having fun? Well, I don't know if I believe that. Maybe it's more like, time flies when you are so busy that the days all meld into one! It feels like non-stop go go go all the time. Last night was especially rough as Zach, my 3 year old, refused to sleep, cried almost all night and was basically the biggest brat I've ever seen. It took every once of my willpower not to completely lose my temper.

That being said, it's the perfect day for some good old comfort food. A chocolate chip cookie with a twist of malt (I used Ovaltine) and the texture of bakery cookies. Big, chocolatey and soft with just a touch of crispiness around the edges to complement the chewiness. One bite of these with my morning coffee almost made me forget the nightmare of a night I just survived.

One last thing - these are from a book called 400 Sensational Cookies by Linda J. Amendt. A seriously spectactular book with huge variety. It may become my new cookie bible!



Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 24 | adapted from 400 Sensational Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (I used Ovaltine)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl cream together butter, shortening and brown sugar. When well combined, add vanilla and eggs.
4. Add dry mixture to butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand so they are about 1/2" thick by 1 1/2" diameter. Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

TWD: Coconut Tea Cake

Dorie describes this as a "dry" cake and I certainly found it to be dry but in a good way. I have used coconut milk numerous times in curries and other entrees but never in a sweet application, so this was a first for me. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle flavor and velvetyness it gave this Bundt.

This recipe was chosen by Carmen Cooks. She has the recipe posted on her blog. I think after this TWD month I'm slowly becoming a coconut lover (okay... maybe at least a coconut TOLERATOR!)

Fluffy Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls

It was such a treat eating thest hot from the oven. Warm, sweet, tender rolls oozing with buttery-nutty-cinnamonny goodness. The recipe for these delightfully soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls comes from the blog Coleen's Recipes.

The high liquid content of these makes them a little tricky (aka. sticky!) to work with but you don't really need to knead these so it's not so bad. These yummy rolls are well worth the stickiness. If you are knead-a-phobic, these are for you. However, even if you love kneading bread, you should still try these :)

1. The dough is light and fluffy, not "bready"
2. There is no kneading
3. They have the texture of a good donut
4. Covered, they stay keep for 2-3 days
5. They freeze beautifully

Fluffy Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast or 1 pkg.
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (divided)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Filling (combine first 4 ingredients)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Pinch of table salt
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter, softened

1. Mix the buttermilk, vegetable oil and sugar in a saucepan and heat on the stove until lukewarm (105-110 degrees). Remove from heat then stir in dry yeast. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes to let the yeast bloom.

2. Add 4 (of the 4 1/2 cups) of flour to the buttermilk mixture and stir well (no need to knead, just mix well). Dough at this stage will be extremely sticky and more like a thick batter. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place for an hour.

3. In a small, separate bowl, mix the final 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. After the sticky dough has rested/raised for an hour, stir it down and add this final half cup flour mixture. Mix until well incorporated - this just takes a minute.

4. Turn batter (which will still be quite soft and sticky) out onto WELL-floured counter and roll the dough around a few times, coating the surface with flour so it is not so sticky. Roll (or pat) dough out into a rectangle that is about 1/2" thick. Spread dough surface with 2 tablespoons butter then evenly spread on the filling ingredients and top with nuts (pat the nuts into the sugar a little). Roll up, jellyroll style, keeping it as tight as you can. Pinch the seam shut tightly. Cut into 1 1/2" slices and lay them, cut side down, in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

5. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until golden and sound hollow when you tap on them. Drizzle with a simple icing sugar/milk glaze while still warm.