Search Results for '("C'

[BakerAunt]

Paddy's Mother's Shortbread
Submitted by PaddyL on March 04, 2009 at 4:25 pm

1 lb. salted butter (MUST BE SALTED)
2/3 cup fine granulated sugar (We use fruit sugar.)
1/3 cup rice flour
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream the butter and sugar (I've also used regular granulated sugar when I ran out of fruit sugar.). Add the rice flour, and the all-purpose flour. I usually start this in the KitchenAid, then switch to my hands and knead and squeeze the mixture till it's really well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Roll into balls, and either flatten with a cookie stamp dipped in sugar, or make criss-cross marks with a fork and sprinkle with sugar. Put on ungreased, or parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake about 10 minutes, depending on how large or small you've made them. They brown a bit around the edges.

Cool on wire racks, then store in an airtight container. They keep beautifully and actually get better with age, if you can keep them hidden long enough.

[BakerAunt]

Sourdough starter
Submitted by PaddyL on March 05, 2009 at 11:18 am

You can follow Linda Collister's to the letter, but I found that trying to keep the cheesecloth covering damp was too fussy, so I just placed a piece of plastic wrap lightly over the plastic container which I kept on top of the fridge. And I stirred it at least 3 times a day until it started to expand.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, preferable unbleached
1/2 cup tepid water (I used tap water.)

Put the flour and water into a small bowl and mix to a sticky paste. Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap (L.C. says NOT to do this, to use damp cheesecloth fixed tightly in place with an elastic, but this just did not work for me.). Leave in a draft-free spot on a kitchen counter, or on top of your fridge.

After 2 to 4 days, your starter should look bubbly, and you'll be feeding it. At this point, I just added a handful of flour and stirred in enough water so make it pasty, but a little liquidy at the same time. Stir it well, cover it again, and leave it for another 24 hours.

By that time, it should look pretty active. Stirring helps a lot. You feed it again, discarding about half of it, maybe less, before adding more flour and water, cover and leave it another 12 hours or so.

Now it should be ready to make bread, but you'll have to make sure you have a little more than the 1 cup that you need for the primary batter; the rest can go into the fridge.

If this isn't clear, or you have any problems, just ask and I'll try to help.

[BakerAunt]

Thin Crepes with Le Trappeur Cheese & Caramelized Pears
Submitted by PaddyL on February 21, 2009 at 5:11 pm

This is a recipe I picked up today at Loblaws', the supermarket where we shop. It was developed by Sylvie Thibodeau, one of the chefs who gives cooking classes at the store, and a good friend of ours.

250 g (1 cup) pastry flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs
500 ml (2 cups) 2% milk
3 tbsp. butter, melted
2 to 3 Bosc pears, diced
Pecan nuts in sufficient quantity (optional)
2 tbsp. salted butter
2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
12 thin slices Le Trappeur Brie Cheese (or St.Paulin cheese)

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add eggs. Using a whisk, beat eggs into flour and gradually add the milk and melted butter. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.

2. Cook thin crepes in a non-stick skillet and set aside.

3. Saute diced pear and pecans in salted butter for 1 or 2 minutes. Add maple syrup and allow mixture to slightly caramelize. Set aside.

4. To prepare crepes, drop 2 tbsp. of diced pear mixture into one crepe with a few thin slices of cheese. Roll crepe and reheat (2 minutes) in a skillet, barely long enough to melt cheese. Serve with a small salad of fresh lamb's lettuce.

• This topic was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Sourdough Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Submitted by PaddyL on February 25, 2009 at 11:56 pm

1 cup sourdough starter
2-1/2 cups flour
2 cups water

I take my starter out of the fridge in the morning, refresh it, and put it on top of the fridge to double or triple, and before I go to bed, I take a cup of starter and mix it up with the flour and water (above). Put the rest back into the fridge, cover the primary batter tightly with plastic wrap and put it in a draft-free place overnight.

3 cups primary batter
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsps. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry powdered milk

Take one cup of the primary batter made the night before and return it to your starter. There should be 3 cups of primary batter left. I no longer bother measuring to make sure if there are 3 cups left, I assume there will be.

With the primary batter in a large bowl, add 1 cup white flour, the warm water, powdered milk, honey, salt, and vegetable oil. Stir well and add the whole wheat flour beating well. Add enough white flour to produce a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn out on a floured board and knead, adding enough extra flour to prevent sticking. Do not make dough too stiff. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl; cover and put in a warm place until double. This can take up to 3 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen, possibly even longer.

Punch down and let rest covered for 20 minutes. Shape into two (or more) loaves, place in greased loaf pans, brush with melted butter, and leave to rise in a warm place until double. Bake at 375 F. for 35 - 45 minutes.

You could probably make 3 loaves, using 8x4 inch pans. I used one 12-inch pan and one 10-inch pan.

[BakerAunt]

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake
Submitted by PaddyL on May 31, 2010 at 11:56 pm

Crumb Topping
1-1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cake
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 apples (such as Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, and chopped.

Prepare topping: In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Use a pastry blender or fork to mix until mixture is coarse and crumbly and the butter is well incorporated. Stir in nuts, if using, and mix well. Set aside.

Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan, and preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare cake: In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and yogurt and beat on low speed until blended. Beat in flour mixture beating on low speed until well blended.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup of the crumb topping, then the apples, and then 1/2 cup of the crumb topping. Spoon on the remaining batter and top with the remaining crumb topping.

Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and dry. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Put a large plate over the top and carefully invert. Remove pan. Place another plate on top of the cake and invert so that crumb topping is facing up. Cool.

[BakerAunt]

Sourdough Bread
Submitted by PaddyL on May 29, 2008 at 12:28 pm

1 cup sourdough starter
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups lukewarm water

Remove your starter from the fridge and take out 1 cup. (I take it out in the morning, feed it, and let it expand, then take out the cup to use in the Primary Batter and return the rest to the fridge.) Place the starter (1 cup) in a bowl and gently stir in the warm water. Stir in the flour, mixing well until batter is smooth. Cover the bowl tightly and put in a warm place for 12 hours. (Mine often is let sit for more than 12 hours.) Before using to make the bread, return one cup of this batter to the starter container in the fridge.

3 cups primary batter
1-1/2 cups warmed milk
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsps. salt
6-7 cups flour (I've used all white, or part white and part whole wheat.)

Place 3 cups of the primary batter in mixing bowl and stir in 1 cup of the flour. Stir well and then add the warmed milk, sugar, salt, and oil. Stir well and then stir in enough additional flour to make a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn out on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, adding extra flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Try, however, to keep the quantity of flour used to a minimum. Place dough in greased bowl; cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in bulk. (Approx. 4 hours to rise in about 75F. room.)

Punch down, turn out and allow to rest for 20 minutes, covered by upturned bowl. Divide dough into two portions and shape into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans. Brush the tops of the loaves with butter and leave to rise in a very warm place until double.

Bake in preheated 375F. oven for 40 minutes. Turn out and cool on rack.

[BakerAunt]

St. Brigid's Yeast Doughnuts
Submitted by PaddyL on February 24, 2008 at 1:07 pm

I've made these into jelly doughnuts and regular round hole-y doughnuts. Both are marvelous. If you make them into jelly doughnuts, cut out circles of dough, fill with jam, top with another circle of dough and seal well, then fry.

Sponge: Mix 1 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 to 1/3 cup flour
Set aside, covered, for up to 30 minutes.

Beat 6 egg yolks, 5 tbsp. sugar until creamy. Add 2/3 cup scalded milk cooled to lukewarm, and 6 tbsp. softened butter.

Add the risen sponge. Beat in 2 to 3 cups flour and 1 tsp. salt. Cover and let rise about 1 hour.

Stir down, roll out to between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick, cut into rounds or hole-y doughnuts, place on parchment-lined and well-floured baking sheets, cover, and let rise till puffy.

Fry the doughnuts in fat (I use peanut oil) about 360F. until done. Break one open to test for doneness.

Glaze while still warm, but not hot.

This dough can be refrigerated after the first rise, for about 2 days. It can also be made into brioches.

Chocolate Glaze
Melt 2 oz. semisweet chocolate with 2 tbsp. butter. Add 2 cups sifted icing sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir in 1/4 cup boiling water till smooth. Dip warm doughnuts in the glaze.

Honey Glaze
Mix 1-1/2 Tbsp. honey, 1 cup sifted icing sugar. Add 3 tbsp. boiling water, approx. You might need a bit more, or less. Dip warm doughnuts in the glaze. This is especially good on doughnut twists.

To keep the risen doughnuts from deflating, you can put them onto squares of parchment, then slip the doughnut and the parchment square into the fat together. The parchment will rise to the surface and you can take it out of the fat, letting the doughnut cook till done.

[BakerAunt]

Basic Homemade Brown Bread
Submitted by PaddyL on June 27, 2009 at 4:39 pm

2 tbsp. dried yeast (I use 1-1/2 tbsp. instant yeast.)
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup honey (or 1/4, depending on your capacity for sweetness)
1/3 cup butter or shortening (or vegetable oil)
4 tsps. salt
3 cups approx. whole wheat flour
3 cups approx. all-purpose flour

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar, if you're using active dry. If instant, skip this step and add the yeast with the flour, BUT be sure to add the 1 cup of water to the rest of the liquids.

Scald the milk and add the honey, salt, and butter, stirring to melt. Let stand till lukewarm.

Meanwhile, combine all of the whole wheat flour with 2 cups of the white, reserving 1 cup of the white flour. Test the temperature of the milk mixture and add the yeast mixture to it. Stir in about one-half of the mixed flours and beat very well indeed. Continue adding the mixed flours until the dough is too stiff to beat and cleans the sides of the bowl. Then turn out, add more white flour to keep dough from sticking. This dough will be fairly sticky so care must be taken not to add too much flour and make it stiff.

Knead until elastic and place in a greased bowl; cover tightly and leave to rise till double. Punch down, turn onto lightly floured board, knead a couple of turns, divide in two, and shape into loaves. (I always give my breads two rises in the bowl.) Place in greased loaf pans and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise till double.

Bake in 400F. oven for 30 minutes. Turn out, brush with melted butter, and cool on wire racks.

Note: Mrs. Gill generally uses 8-1/2 x 4-1/2" bread pans, but you could make this a double loaf in an extra long pan, or even into rolls.

[BakerAunt]

Cakey Chocolate Mint Cookies

Submitted by PaddyL on June 30, 2009 at 2:20 pm
From The Complete Cookie by Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (or light brown)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 or more cups mint chocolate chips

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Put the butter and chocolate in a glass measuring cup, and microwave at full power for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, until melted, stirring every 20 seconds. (I melt the butter and chocolate in a pot over low heat.)

Combine the sugars and egg in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed until smooth and blended, about 1 minute. Mix in the buttermilk and peppermint. Beat in the melted chocolate and butter mixture.

Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, and fold in the mint chips. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes to stiffen.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Drop by tbsp. onto ungreased, or parchment-lined, cookie sheets, about 3 inches apart. (Actually, they don't spread that much, so you can put them a bit closer.) Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the cookies are firm to the touch and the tops have cracked.

Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the sheets, then remove them to wire racks to cool completely.

[BakerAunt]

Chocolate Fudge Icing
Submitted by PaddyL on June 13, 2009 at 10:36 am

4 oz. (squares) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup (4 oz.) unsalted butter
4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsps. vanilla

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Let cool slightly.

In a small to medium bowl, mix the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla. Add the cooled chocolate, then beat till your arm is falling off, or beat over a bowl of ice water, or put into the fridge for about 12 minutes until the icing is thick and spreadable.

Goes perfectly on the Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, or any other cake you'd like. Makes enough to fill and frost a 2 or 3 layer cake, with a bit left over for piping.

[BakerAunt]

Blueberry Crumble Tea Bread
Submitted by PaddyL on June 08, 2009 at 10:53 am

2 oz. (55 g) butter, room temp.
6 oz. (170 g) fine granulated sugar (I used regular gran. sugar.)
1 egg, room temp. (I used large.)
4 fl. oz. (125 ml) milk
8 oz. (225 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
10 oz. (285 g) fresh blueberries (I used frozen.)

Topping:
4 oz. (115 g.) sugar
1-1/2 oz. (45 g.) flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 oz. (55 g) butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish. I lined a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, and lightly greased the foil.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat to combine, then mix in the milk until blended.

Sift over the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir just enough to blend the ingredients. (At this point in the recipe, I was tired, so I just let the KitchenAid mixer take over and probably mixed it a little too much, but the outcome was extremely good any way. And I didn't sift the flour.)
Add the berries and stir. (Here again, the KA took over and the batter turned purple.)
Transfer to the baking dish and smooth out.

For the topping, place the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter in a mixing bowl. Cut in with pastry blender, or your fingers, until the mixture, sort of, resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the mixture in baking dish.

Bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Check at 40 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.
This recipe is from a British cookbook by Linda Fraser.

[BakerAunt]

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
Submitted by PaddyL on June 13, 2009 at 10:30 am

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (8-1/2 oz., 240 g)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1-1/2 tsps. baking soda
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp (230g)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar (12-1/4 oz., 350 g)
4 large eggs
1-1/3 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour 2 x 9" round layer cake pans. Preheat oven to 325F.

Sift together the flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler set over hot, not boiling, water. Remove chocolate from heat, stir to make sure it is completely melted and smooth, then set aside to cool until comfortable to touch.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beaters several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in the vanilla and cooled chocolate, blending until the colour is even.

Turn the mixture into the prepared pans. Smooth it level, then spread it slightly from the centre toward the edges of the pan so it will rise evenly. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in its pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

About the 'lower third of the oven': I just left the oven racks where they were, as I bake most things on the middle rack of the oven.

[BakerAunt]

Clonmel Kitchen Double Crusty Bread

Submitted by PaddyL on January 05, 2004 at 11:39 am
This is a recipe I adapted from Acadian Bread in Janice Murray Gill's Great Canadian Bread Book.

2 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vinegar
5 tsps. vegetable oil
6 cups, approx., all-purpose or bread flour

Put the water in a large mixing bowl with the sugar and yeast and let it bubble up for about 10 minutes. Add the salt, egg, vinegar, and oil and stir. Beat in the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out and knead, adding bits of flour to keep it from sticking, for about 8-10 minutes, or until it's smooth and elastic. If you pick up the dough and slam it down on the work surface during the kneading, this helps both you and the dough. Put into a greased bowl, grease the top lightly, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise till double.

Punch down and let rise again. (I've let it rise and punched it down up to 4 times.) Turn out and shape into 2 loaves, put into greased pans and let rise till double.

Preheat oven to 350F. I put an egg wash on my loaves and sprinkle them with sesame seeds, but you can leave them plain if you want. When the loaves have risen, bake for 40 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms. Cool on wire racks.

Note: If you double this recipe, do not double the salt, vinegar, or egg, as it changes the texture.

[BakerAunt]

Bermuda Banana Bread

Submitted by PaddyL on January 07, 2008 at 1:41 pm
This is a yeasted banana bread.

1 Tbsp. dried yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 overripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup scalded milk
4-6 cups flour

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm water and the 1 tsp. sugar.

In a blender or food processor puree the bananas until they are very smooth. Add the 1 cup of sugar and continue to puree. Add the salt, eggs, milk, and oil.

Turn into a mixing bowl, check temperature, and add the proofed yeast. Beat in 2 cups of flour and beat very well. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out and knead 10 minutes, adding additional flour to prevent sticking. (The amount of flour used will vary widely due to variation in the size and moisture content of the bananas.) Place in greased bowl; cover and let rise till double.

Turn out; divide dough into two portions and shape into small loaves. Place in greased tea loaf pans. Let rise till double.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in preheated 375F oven. Turn out and cool on racks. This bread has a stronger banana flavour when toasted. Excellent for peanut butter sandwiches too.

[BakerAunt]

Clonmel Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies

Submitted by PaddyL on January 05, 2004 at 11:14 am
These chocolate chip cookies are flat and chewy.

1 cup + 2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs (I use extra large.)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups, barely, all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
As many chocolate chips as you want.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cream butter and sugars by hand (an electric mixer whips too much air into the cookie dough.). Beat in the eggs and vanilla; add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by tbsp. onto lightly greased, or parchment-lined, cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing to wire racks to cool. Or, if you have the space, cool the cookies on a bread board.