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For Sunday, I baked 8 "pie bowl" cakelets, using two specialty Chicago Metallic pans and the KAF cake recipe from their Lemon Custard Cake (designed by KAF to push the Marianne pan they were selling at the time). I sliced the rest of the strawberries, and we have vanilla ice cream, so we will have strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Thus we began this day with strawberry sweet rolls and end it with strawberry shortcake!
On the cake, I should mention that I substitute 160 grams of Bob's Red Mill unbleached, extra-fine cake flour for the equal weight of KAF AP flour. It produces a more tender cake. I also delete the lemon flavor and zest and use 1/4 tsp. vanilla.
I'm relieved to report that the strawberry filling did not stick to the pan. I adapted the recipe from the Dark and Dangerous Cinnamon buns by making a thin frosting of 1 cup powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 Tbs. melted butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 3 Tbs. of heavy cream. I divided it among the rolls, plopping it in the center, then spread it. That works well, although I can see why the cream cheese frosting would be good on these.
The Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls have a tart filling, which we like, and it did firm up when baked. Part of the problem that I had rolling the filling up inside is that it is rolled up on the 17-inch side, and it is hard to control the tightness of the rolling in the center area with such a goopy filling. My worst ones--the ones that were hard to keep together and get into the pan, were just to the right of the center when I cut them into 12-pieces (using dental floss, of course). Perhaps making two rectangles, along the long side, so each is 8 1/2 inches, would make it easier to roll (keeping the same width for number of turns).
I'd like to bake these again--but with less drama in working with the filling. The dough makes for a nice, tender roll.
Saturday night's baking project is Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls, which is pictured on the front cover of the Spring 2018 Sift magazine. It is also available on the KAF website:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/roasted-strawberry-cream-cheese-rolls-recipe
I've made a few changes, which those who regularly read this site already know. 🙂
I substituted in 1 1/4 Cups white whole wheat flour and added 2 Tbs. flax meal. I substituted in 2/3 cup buttermilk instead of using 3/4 Cup milk. (I was going to do just 1/2 cup buttermilk and the rest yeast, but I wanted to use it up.) and I used 3 Tbs. of water to proof the yeast. I substituted in 1 Tbs. of honey for one of the two tablespoons of sugar to try to prevent staling. (Adding honey to prevent staling is one of Cass's tips.) I kneaded the dough in my bread machine, but it is now rising in a regular bowl. It feels like a lovely dough.
The filling calls for roasting the strawberries, and I started them as soon as I started the bread machine. I'll substitute the zest from one lemon for the 2 tsp. of orange zest in the filling because I have lemons not oranges in the house.
I'll bake these this evening and frost them tomorrow. I'll use a different frosting recipe (maybe the one from the KAF Whole Grain Baking for the Dark and Dangerous Cinnamon Buns). The given frosting uses cream cheese, and I do not want to open another package and just use 2 oz. of it. I had 4 oz. left over from another recipe, which was exactly what the dough required.
I'll come back tomorrow and report on how the recipe turns out and about taste and texture.
Today I baked a new recipe, "Brown Sugar Bundt Cake with Toasted Sesame Frosting," from One Bowl Baking, a special issue of Bake from Scratch (p. 16) that came out this spring. The cake itself is wonderful and has a softer texture than the KAF Brown Sugar Pound Cake that I've baked. This one bakes at 300F for 65 minutes, and I noted that I had no issues with the interior not being baked through.
I did have some sticking issues when I removed the pan after allowing it to cool for 10 minutes. I don't know that additional cooling time would have helped. I used the "grease," and it could be that I missed some small spots. It came out mostly intact, with some sharp hitting of the rack on the table, and I stuck back on the bit that did stick.
Neither my husband nor I care much for the Toasted Sesame Frosting, which is made of tahini, butter, confectioners' sugar, and a dash of salt. It does ok with the cake, which is not sweet, but it is definitely not a frosting that you leave until last. I'll bake this cake again, and either serve it as is--it is moist and light--or use a light vanilla glaze.
I also baked "Dark Grain Bread," a recipe from Bernard Clayton, Jr.'s New Complete Book of Breads (revised and expanded edition), pp. 223-225. It's the one that I discussed in a previous thread, where we determined that it could be mixed and kneaded in a powerful modern mixer. This time, I substituted 1 1/2 Cups buttermilk for that much water (still leaving 1 Cup water. I also replaced the molasses with honey, since I do not care for such a strong molasses taste. I again replaced 2 Tbs. shortening with 2 Tbs. unsalted butter. I reduced the yeast from two packets (4 1/2 tsp.) to 4 tsp., and the salt from 1 Tbs. to 2 1/2 tsp. I added 1/4 cup special dried milk that I wanted to use up.
It had a very fast second rise, probably because it was in the low 80s today, so I put it in the oven before it was fully heated. It's about to come out, and it has held a nice shape. I'll report tomorrow on taste and texture.
Addendum: I definitely prefer the bread with honey rather molasses. The texture is fine, but it did rise just a bit too long. It has a complex taste--no one grain predominating. I'll bake it again with these changes--and keep an eye on the rise when it is so warm.
Even the crackers around the edges that were slightly crispy become chewy once cooled and stored. I wonder if the oats are the reason. I don't think that I will bake this recipe again. The taste is good, better than the first time, but the texture is not what I want.
