Apple Chunk Bread

Wow, a whole month of no new recipes - how did that happen? Possibly because I've been busy baking banana breads the whole time (my first traded treats since starting this blog - the recipient helped by taking my dog for a run). The other reason being that the weather has been consistently in the 30-34 range and thus much too hot to even think of baking. This past weekend we had nothing but rain so having cooled off quite a bit it only got to the low 20s today. It was clearly a sign to start using the oven again. So I whipped this little treat up.

Dough Ingredients

• 2 1/4 t yeast
• 3 c bread flour
• 2 T sugar
• 1.5 t salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 c oil
• 1 c milk

Filling

• 1-2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• butter, melted - optional

1. Add dough ingredients to bread machine and run on the Dough cycle. (about 1h30)
   
2. On floured surface, roll dough into rectangle.
3. Mix apple pieces with cinnamon.
4. If using butter, spread on dough. (I didn't use it.)
5. Sprinkle with brown sugar and apple mixture.
6. Roll. Tuck ends and place in 9x5x3 bread pan.
7. Let rise until 1.5-2x, about 1 hour.
8. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes.
9. Slice and enjoy!

Variations

• Make the rectangle very long, and when rolled cut into 9 pieces and bake in a 9x9 baking dish as cinnamon-apple-rolls.
• Add nuts.
• Put the whole thing back in the bread machine to bake.

Cream Puffs

Custard Filling

• 1/2 c sugar
• 5 T all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 c milk
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 t vanilla extract

Pastry

• 1/2 c butter
• 1 c water
• 1 c all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 4 eggs

Chocolate Topping

• 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

For the custard
You can make this a day ahead to chill in the refrigerator.

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, flour and a pinch of salt.
   
2. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth.
   
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 60 seconds, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir.
   
4. Return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir, over heat, until mixture starts to bubble again.
   
5. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator.

Pastry
How do you get the space in the center? The dough rises by itself! At a high temperature, the pastry rises, and then the rest of the time is drying it out so it holds its shape. Easy peasy! The puffs freeze well - just let cool after baking and stick in an airtight container. Reheat in oven when ready to use.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C)
2. In a medium saucepan, combine butter and water and bring to a boil.
   
3. Sift together 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt and pour all at once into boiling mixture.
4. Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, let sit 5 minutes.
   
5. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition.
   
6. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheet, or pipe into desired shape.
7. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 400F/200C and bake 20 minutes more, or until golden.
   
8. Poke a hole in each to let out the steam while cooling. Cool completely.
   

Chocolate Topping
This step is optional, but seriously, who wouldn't want their puff with chocolate?

1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or slowly over low heat.

Cream Puff Assembly

1. Use a chopstick to poke a hole in the pastry.
   
2. Pipe the custard in. You can use a ziplock bag and cut off a tiny bit of the corner.
   
3. Optionally, you can cut off the top of the pastry, use a spoon to fill it with custard and replace the top.
   
4. Cover with melted chocolate.
   
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Notes
9/27/08 - I was in a terrible rush and was already 10 minutes late when I started putting the chocolate frosting on - hence them not looking so neat. Oh well, it's the taste that counts.
4/12/10 - Ran out of all purpose flour so made these with bread flour. Turned out ok. Puffs stuck to pan so best to let cool before removing. Also only had salted butter, so puffs tasted extra salty.
4/13/10 - Reheated frozen puffs in oven.
2/8/15 - A glossy chocolate glaze can be made by combining with cream (which I prefer to avoid) or with a butter/sugar/water combo (which is more time consuming). I'm fine with the rustic look of just melted chips for a quick application. This time used a scale to measure how much filling each one was getting. Mostly about 30 g but one accidentally got stuffed with 100 g! Made 15 puffs.

Mango Carrot Bread

My own invention - this turned out very moist, and a little too sweet for my taste. Perhaps less sugar next time.

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t soda
• 1/2 t powder
• 1 t cinnamon
• dashes of nutmeg, allspice, etc
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c oil
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 large carrot, grated (~3/4 c)
• 1/2 large mango, mashed (~1 c)
• 1/2 c raisins or chopped nuts
  

1. Mix dry ingredients and spices together in large bowl.
2. Mix eggs, oil and sugar in separate bowl. Add carrot and mango.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until flour is dissolved.
4. Stir in raisins and/or nuts.
5. Bake at 175C/350F for about 80 minutes.
   

Pancakey Crepes/Crepey Pancakes

This is an easy recipe as you use the blender for mixing and pouring. It's somewhere between a pancake and a crepe. If you want it more crepe like, add another 1/2 cup of milk.

• 2 c milk
• 1/4 c sugar (or less)
  
• 2 c flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t vegetable oil
• butter (for pan)

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into greased heated pan (6-8") on medium (medium-low).
3. Flip and cook until lightly browned.
4. Serve with frozen berries, fresh cut fruit, or eat plain.
   

Smoothies

It's too hot to bake - so not much going on here in August. However, one thing that's easy to do is blend up a smoothie. Just throw in your favorite ingredients - and voila! A refreshing treat.

Possible Ingredients

• frozen fruit (bananas, berries, passonfruit, etc)
• fresh fruit (pineapple, mango, etc)
• liquid
• yogurt
• milk
• juice
• apple
• grape
• orange (this will make it bitter)
• ice cream, sorbet
• ice

1. Chop fruit into smaller pieces, as necessary for your blender.
2. Add additional ingredients and blend until smooth (or slightly chunky if you prefer).
3. Drink or for a thick smoothie, eat with a spoon!

Notes

• My favorite simplest combinations are
• frozen banana and milk
• mango and ice
• My favorites are
• mixed berries and banana
• banana, pineapple, coconut milk (add rum to make pina coladas, or leave it out to keep it virgin)

Variations

• Add almonds for a bit of a crunch and extra protein. Or try pumpkin seeds or shredded coconut.
  
• Add fresh spinach for a bit of green.

Breakfast Pancakes

I like making pancakes but as for eating them - well, they're sometimes too filling and I feel like it takes the place of breakfast and lunch. So it's not often I do. However, today was a special day and so I woke up early to get these started.

I used a simple recipe found online (from Smitten Kitchen, which was from the NY Times). I think you can do just about anything for the base, and adjust to your taste (ex more or less milk for thickness) but I always like a pancake with fresh fruit instead of syrup.

I usually mash bananas into the mixture (which can replace the normally added sugar completely) but this time I took the recipes advice and tried adding slices of frozen banana to the pancake after pouring - and I have to say this was MUCH better! The banana flavor was stronger. I also tried some with frozen blueberries, but this was not nearly as good. I prefer fresh picked blueberries rather than the slightly sour frozen kind.

Everyday Pancakes ***
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 T sugar, optional
2 eggs
2 C milk (more or less)
2 T melted and cooled butter (optional), plus unmelted butter for cooking, or use neutral oil.
1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Beat eggs into 1 1/2 c milk, then stir in 2 T melted cooled butter, if using it. Gently stir this mixture into dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten flour; don’t worry about a few lumps. If batter seems thick, add a little more milk.
2. Grease the pan. When butter foam subsides or oil shimmers, ladle batter onto griddle or skillet, making pancakes of any size you like. Adjust heat as necessary; usually, first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, after 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Cook until second side is lightly browned. Serve, or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200-degree oven for up to 15 minutes.

Variations

• Use fresh or frozen (not defrosted) blueberries. Drop berries after pouring batter.
• Use fresh or frozen bananas. Slice them and press into surface of poured pancake. Cook slower to prevent burning. Optionally, mash the whole banana and mix with ingredients.
• Use whole wheat flour.
• Add vanilla or almond extract.

Notes

• 6/7/09 Made a batch with about 1 3/4 milk plus a mashed banana. Placed slice bananas or sliced strawberries on top. Made enough to make 4 large breakfasts.

Yogurt Pancakes *****

These ones come out pretty fluffy. First time was with coconut and raspberries, which I thought was ***** but MM didn't like the coconut. Next time was with a mixed berry package (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), an extra egg white leftover from making cream puffs and no coconut, which I thought was just ****. 

• 2 1/4 c flour
• 2 T sugar (or use mashed banana instead)
• 1 1/4 t powder
• 1/4 t salt
• optional: shredded coconut
• 2 eggs
• 1 c milk
• 3/4 c yogurt
• 1 T canola oil
• generous amount of frozen raspberries or other favorite frozen fruit
• butter or coconut oil for greasing pan

1. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
2. Beat eggs. Combine with milk, yogurt, and oil.
3. Add wet ingredients into dry, and stir just until mixed.
4. Grease cast iron pan and heat over medium heat. No need to grease after first time.

Frozen Passionfruit

The heat in August is tormenting - the last thing I want to do is bake. It doesn't get simpler than this for a cool and refreshing snack.

• passionfruit

1. Place in freezer and wait several hours or days.
2. Cut in half
3. Eat with spoon.