Onion and rosemary tear and share bread

This lovely tear and share bread looks great as well as tasting fab and goes with home-made soup very nicely. The original recipe was found in Sage and onion tear and share bread on BBC Food, and I adjusted it a bit for this post. I thought heating milk is a rather fiddly job, so I warmed the water in the kettle and poured the warm water over the cold milk. This made the milk and water mixture nice and warm.
Just be careful not to boil the water as this will make the liquid mixture too hat. The dough is really wet and sticky. If you have a mixer, let the machine to do the kneading. Well..., I don't.  So I got on with the job by hand. You could decrease the amount of milk from 150ml to 100ml and see how it goes.
I used rosemary instead of sage.  I simply didn't have sage at the time, and I think onion goes well with various herbs. You need to cook the onion patiently to bring out the natural sweetness to be almost like caramel. This bread has both sweet and savoury flavours; it's so good. You've got to try this. :)


Ingredients

• 150ml whole milk, plus extra for glazing + 150ml warm water 
• 400g strong white flour, plus extra for kneading
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 15g butter (or 1 Tbsp olive oil) 
• 1 Tbsp sunflower oil (or olive oil), plus extra for greasing
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• fresh rosemary (or 15-20 sage leaves) chopped, and extra for garnish 
• freshly ground black pepper 

     

     Method

1. Warm up 150ml/5fl oz water and pour over cold milk  (This makes quite a wet dough. So, it could change to 100ml milk + 150ml water).
2. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast, sugar and salt.
3. Make a well in the centre and stir in the water and milk with a large wooden spoon. Gather into a ball then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover loosely with oiled clingfilm. Leave to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion and garlic over a very low heat for 10 minutes, or until softened.
6. Scatter the chopped rosemary (or sage) over the onions and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with lots of freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool.
7. When the dough has doubled in size, tip it back onto a floured surface and flatten with the palms of your hands. Spoon the onion mixture on top and knead for a couple of minutes until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if it becomes sticky.
8. Divide the dough into eight and shape into neat balls by pulling the dough from the outside of the ball and pushing into the centre. Turn over with the ends underneath. Place the rolls in a circle on a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, making sure the dough balls are touching. Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
9. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 6.
10. Brush the top of each roll lightly with milk and place some rosemary leaves (or a small sage leaf) on top. Brush with more milk and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, and decrease the temperature to 160c and bake for a further 20-15 minutes or until risen and golden-brown. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool a little before serving.

Vegan Chocolate and Walnut Cupcakes

Here are my very chocolatey vegan chocolate cupcakes with walnuts.
You can make them without walnuts if you prefer a smooth texture.

This cake mixture also works for a round cake tin for a birthday cake base. You will need a longer baking time of 40-45 minutes for one big round cake.  I made the round cake version with orange flavour by adding zest of one orange to the cake mixture.  I also spread a good orange marmalade in in the middle when the cake become cool enough to slice.
To add more indulgent chocolate flavour, you can decorate the cake with melted plain chocolate (don't use milk chocolate! It's a vegan cake after all. )

My vegan friend approved so I must have done the right thing. :)

Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

• 200g (7 oz) self-raising flour 
• 200g (7 oz) caster sugar
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (or baking powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons (74ml) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or white vinegar)
• 250ml (8 fl oz) water
• 70g chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. 
2. Sieve together the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, lemon juice and water.  Mix together until smooth. Add walnuts.
3.  Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake at 180 C for 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Decorate with cocoa icing (cocoa + icing sugar +water) and crushed walnuts. 

Orange and Crème Fraîche Cupcakes

I really enjoyed the Sicilian oranges from my lovely Italian friend.
Here are the cupcakes which have orange zest in the cake mixture. I only used the zest of orange but the lovely orange flavour was certainly there in the cake. I used crème fraîche instead of milk for the cake mixture to compliment the fresh flavour of orange. They are really moist and have a light texture.

I'm not a "pretty cupcake" maker really but I just felt like making something a little fancier than my usual products.  So I decorated them with my take on "buttercream icing". I used crème fraîche. The common ratio between icing sugar and butter is 2:1. You also need milk to loosen the consistency of the frosting.
I replaced 25% of butter with crème fraîche, which I think provides a good balance for piping the frosting. You can replace butter with margarine if you really want to go for the low-fat option like I did.
Well, they tasted pretty good. :)

Ingredients

• 6 oz low-fat spread  
• 6 oz caster Sugar
• 6 oz SR flour (or Plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder) 
• 1 egg  (When I used 2 eggs, the cupcakes sank as a result of too much liquid.)
• zest of 1 orange (or lemon)
• 100ml crème fraîche

For crème fraîche frosting

• 75g butter or margarine  
  
• 25g crème fraîche
• 200g icing sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla paste
• zest of ½ orange  

 Method 

1. Pre-heat the oven 160-180 °c.
2. Put all ingredients in the food processer and mix well. (all-in-one method)     To make a dropping consistency, you may need to add more crème fraîche.
3. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
4. When the cupcakes are baked, let them stand for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool.
5. Decorate with lemon juice + icing sugar mixture or pour a drop of crème fraîche on top to make the cupcakes into a dessert. If you prefer, you can make crème fraîche frosting to decorate them.

Vegan Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

• 175 g dark brown soft sugar, sifted 
  
• 200 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons mixed spice (or cinnamon + ginger)
• 70 ml sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 200 g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• 175 g dried mixed fruit
• 200ml water
• 1 Earl Gray tea bag

Method

1. Boil the water and pour over dried fruit and a Earl Gray tea bag. Soak the dried fruit in the hot tea for 2 hours.
2. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C).
3. Mix the carrot, orange zest, dried fruit with tea and oil.
4. Then sift together the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into the bowl.
5. Stir all this together, then pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
6. When the cupcakes are completely cold decorate with creme fraiche and icing sugar topping and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Carrot Cupcakes

Here are my humble carrot cupcakes with a little bit of flair.
My recipe was inspired by Delia's Low-fat Moist Carrot Cake. I adjusted her recipe for cupcakes and used half-fat crème fraiche, so they are even more low-fat.  Juicy fruit and crunchy walnuts give these cupcakes a lovely flavour and texture. As you expect, grated carrot keeps the cupcakes very moist. 
Shall I put the kettle on?  

Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

• 6 oz (175 g) dark brown soft sugar, sifted
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 100 ml sunflower oil
• 7 oz (200 g) self-raising flour
• 1 level teaspoons baking powder
• 3 teaspoons mixed spice (or cinnamon + ginger)
• grated zest 1 orange
• 7 oz (200 g) carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• 3 oz dried mixed fruit + 3 oz walnuts 

     For the topping

• 200 g crème fraiche
• 15 g caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra for dusting

Method 

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C).
2. Begin by whisking the sugar, eggs and oil together in a bowl using an electric hand whisk for 2-3 minutes.
3. Then sift together the flour, baking powder and the mixed spice into the bowl.
4. Stir all this together, then fold in the orange zest, carrots, dried mix fruit and chopped walnuts. 
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until they are well risen and feels firm and springy to the touch when lightly pressed in the centre.
6. While the cupcakes are cooking, make the topping by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl until light and fluffy, then cover with clingfilm and chill for 1-2 hours or until needed.
7. When the cupcakes are completely cold, remove them from the tin, spread the topping over and dust with a little more cinnamon.

Sicilian Orange Cake

Juicy, sweet and full of flavour. Sicilian oranges are the best. 
My beautiful Italian friend Giacoma brought lovely oranges from Sicily. :) So I baked this cake to enjoy the taste of sunshine. My recipe was inspired by Rick Stein's recipe. It's a simpler and smaller version of his with a little adjustment. Very moist and full of flavour. 

Ingredients 

• 6 oz lightly salted butter 
  
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• zest of 1 orange
• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 60ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• for icing:  80g icing sugar + 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 20cm clip-sided round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.
2. Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling.
4. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40-55 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
6. Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.         
7. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set.

Easy Fruit Cake

This is a very easy fruit cake. Just remember to soak the dried fruit with liquid overnight. I used lemon juice and water, but apple juice is a very nice alternative. The cake is very moist as you would expect.
I made fruit cake in a hurry without soaking the other day and the cake turned out really dry.
So, using "juicy" dried fruit is definitely the key.

Ingredients

• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter)
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz self-raising flour (or plain flour + 2tsp baking powder)
• 6 oz dried mixed fruit  
  
• 2 eggs
• zest of 1 lemon 
• juice of 1 lemon
• 30ml water or apple/orange juice

Method

1. Soak the dried fruit and lemon zest with lemon juice and water overnight.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 170 °c  (160 °c fan) 
3. Put low-fat spread (or butter), sugar, flour and eggs in a food processer and mix well.  I often use an electric hand mixer.
4. Gently fold the soaked dried fruit and the juice into the mixture. 
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
6. Bake it in the oven for about 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the cake. 
7. When the cake is baked, let it stand for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate. 

Rye, cider and oat bread

Although beer is not my favourite alcoholic beverage, I was so tempted to try this legendary P.Hollywood's ultimate ploughman's loaf with rye, ale and oats. He says this is a historic British bread with modern twist. I had to do more twisting as I replaced ale with cider. My friend Catherine twisted the recipe even further by replacing rye with granary flour and ale with apple juice. The result of her bread looked stunning. :) 

Though I couldn't taste it, I'm sure it tasted great as I trust her judgement.

Anyway, here is my "Rye, cider and oat bread" packed with flavour. I really enjoyed the nuttiness of rye, subtle sweetness of treacle and fruity flavour of cider. The crust gives a distinctive character to this bread.   

This is a perfect loaf for a ploughman's lunch of chutney, apple and celery slices, and your favourite cheese.

I enjoyed this bread with camembert cheese and chillie jam. :) 

Ingredients

For the loaf 

• 350g (12oz) rye flour 
  
• 150g (5½oz) strong white flour, plus extra for flouring
• 10g (¼oz) salt
• 10g (¼oz) instant yeast
•  50ml (2fl oz) black treacle
• approx 140ml (4¾fl oz) water (I used 120ml for my loaf)
• approx 250ml (9fl oz) cider (I used 220ml for my loaf)

For the cider batter topping 

• 150ml (5fl oz) cider
• 100g (3½oz) rye flour
• pinch of sugar
• handful of jumbo oats

Method

1.   Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add the treacle, 100ml (3½fl oz) of the water and 150ml (5fl oz) of the cider. Using your hands, stir the ingredients together until all the flour leaves the side of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining cider and water if needed (I only added 20ml of water and 70ml of cider)- the dough should be soft and all the sides of the bowl should be clean.

2.   Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough will be wet initially but will become smooth once worked. When the dough has a smooth skin put it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave for two hours.
 





3.   For the topping, mix the cider with the rye flour and a pinch of sugar to form a thick batter.

4.   Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a ball. Spread the cider paste over the loaf and sprinkle over the jumbo oats. Place the loaf onto a baking tray lined with parchment.           Leave to prove for one and a half hours.

5.   Preheat the oven to 220C (425F / Gas 7).

6.   Bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200C (400F / Gas 6) and bake for a further 10 minutes. The loaf will be golden-brown and should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Overnight Sponge and Dough Method part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post about "Overnight Sponge and Dough Method Bread", I changed the ratio of flour and water here. The new formula is much easier to handle than the previous one.
I used wholemeal flour for the 2nd stage of 175g flour. the bread tasted great with a thin crust and very soft and moist crumb. However, there were a few big bubbles inside. Perhaps I couldn't knock all the air out before shaping the loaf.  Well, it's a learning curve. :)

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 200ml warm water (about 30-35C)
• 1 level tsp easy-blend yeast (it may also be called "fast-action dried yeast", "instant yeast")
• 175g strong white bread flour

For the dough

• 175g strong white bread flour (or other kind of flour e.g. wholemeal, rye etc.) 
• 1 level tsp fine salt
• 10ml olive oil

Method

1. In a big mixing bowl add the warm water and stir in the yeast.  Add the flour, stir it up well with a wooden spoon, cover the bowl and leave overnight.
2. When you're ready to make your dough, put the second batch of flour (175g) into the yeast batter.  Add salt and olive oil, then mix well.
3. Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, then cover and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in height (2-3 hours).
4. When the dough is ready, knock it back (pushing it away from the sides with your knuckles) and tip it onto a work surface.
5. Mould the dough into rugby ball shapes and place them on a baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove (30 mins - 1 hour). Dust the top of the loaf with a little more flour and slash the top with a sharp knife if you want.
6. Heat oven to 220C/ fan 200C/ gas 7.
7. Pour hot water onto the bottom of the oven or into a dish at the bottom of the oven to create steam. 
8. Bake the bread for 20 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C /fan 170C/gas 5 and continue to bake for 30 mins until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the oven and tapped on the base. Leave the bread on a wire rack to cool completely

Overnight sponge and dough method bread

Recently, I came across a method called "overnight sponge dough." 

I thought that it would be a quicker version of sourdough. Is that right? 

Wikipedia says, "The sponge and dough method is a two-step bread making process: in the first step a sponge is made and allowed to ferment for a period of time, and in the second step the sponge is added to the final dough's ingredients, creating the total formula."  Hmmm....Fascinating stuff. 

So, why this method? "The sponge method is used for 3 different reasons: taste, texture and chemistry.  

The flavour that is created is dependent on the ingredients used and the fermenting yeast. Just like sourdough, the longer the ferment, the greater the taste difference."

So, I thought to myself, why not try this. I did further research and created my recipe.  It was a really sticky job as the dough was wet and difficult to work with.   However, I was happy with the result.   
The bread had a very fine structure, was silky smooth and had a slightly sour flavour compared to the normal bread I make (click here to see) but was much milder than sourdough bread. It also had a very thin crust and a soft and moist interior. I should say there are some issues to deal with like the balance of the quantity of water and flour.  My friend Catherine used 190g flour at the 2nd stage which is a bit more flour than the original recipe. She did really well on her amended version. It's the matter of the ratio of flour and water after all.  Anyway, I've got an idea to make this "Sponge and Dough method bread" easier. I mean to create a dough which is easier to handle.   I'll post the new recipe, so watch this space. 

Meanwhile, here are the ingredients and the method I used for my first sponge and dough method bread.   

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 225ml warm water (about 30-35C)
• 1 level tsp easy-blend yeast
• 175g strong white bread flour

For the dough

• 175g strong white bread flour
• 1 level tsp fine salt
• 25g olive oil

Method

1. In a big mixing bowl add the warm water and stir in the yeast.  Add the flour, stir it up well with a wooden spoon, cover the bowl and leave overnight.
2. When you're ready to make your dough, put the second batch of flour (175g) into the yeast batter.  Add salt and olive oil, then mix well.
3. Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, then cover and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in height (about 2 hours).
4. When the dough is ready, knock it back (pushing it away from the sides with your knuckles) and tip it onto a work surface.
5. Mould the dough into rugby ball shapes and place them on a baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for 30 mins. Dust the top of the loaf with a little more flour and slash the top with a sharp knife if you want.
6. Heat oven to 220C/ fan 200C/ gas 7.
7. Pour hot water onto the bottom of the oven or into a dish at the bottom of the oven to create steam. 
8. Bake the bread for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C /fan 170C/gas 5 and continue to bake for 30 mins until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the oven and tapped on the base. Leave the bread on a wire rack to cool completely

something called "Lemon Bars"

I really enjoyed my bargain lemons and there were the last two remaining in the fruit bowl. 

I was wondering if there was any unusual recipe for my last two lemons and came across something called "lemon bars." Sounds very American to me as we may call these "lemon slices" here in Britain. 

Anyway, these are slices of very tangy lemon filling on top of a biscuit base. That's more or less what they are.  Tray-baked lemon tart ... something like that.  I added lemon zest to the filling to get even more lemony flavour. 

Click here for the video for how to make these. 

Ingredients

• 225 g butter, softened 

• 100 g caster sugar

• 250 g plain flour

• 4 eggs

• 300 g caster sugar

• 30 g plain flour

• zest and juice of 2 lemons

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 C.
2. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 250g flour and 100g sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven, or until firm and golden. 
4. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 300g sugar and 30g flour. Whisk in the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
5. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. 
6. Cut into squares when cooled.  

Really Tangy Upside-down Lemon Cake

 

I can't resist a bargain .... A bag of unwaxed lemons was half price ... I had to buy them. 

So here is the incredibly tangy upside-down lemon cake with two whole lemons. 

Yes, truly two whole lemons. I used lemon zest in the cake mixture and sliced the lemons and placed them in the bottom of the cake tin which was layered with caramel sauce. 

I love lemon, but it was seriously tangy.   However, somehow, it was quite morish and I really enjoyed it. Should I recommend you to bake it?     

I'm not so sure ... but if you REALLY like a tangy lemony flavour, go for it. 

Ingredients 

• 200g plain flour
• 150g sugar 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150ml milk
• 50ml vegetable oil  
• 1 egg
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 sliced lemons
• for caramel: 3 oz caster sugar + 3 tablespoon water

Method

1. Place the granulated sugar and 6 Tbsp water into a stainless steel pan.
2. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and there are no granules.
3. Remove the spoon and increase the heat. (Do NOT stir! Just watch!)
4. Boil until a golden straw colour and immediately pour into the cake tin. Leave it to cool.
5. Slice the lemons and place them on top of the caramel layer in the bottom of the cake tin.
6. Measure out the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add lemon zest.
7. Measure milk and oil in a large measuring jug. Add egg and whisk well.
8. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Stir until just combined. 
9. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.
10. Bake in a preheated (180 C) oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
11. When the cake is baked, leave it for a few minutes then turn it upside-down onto the plate. 

Golden Syrup Cupcakes

Oops ... No sugar? Ah, but I've got golden syrup in the cupboard.
So, here they are, I made golden syrup cupcakes.  As an experiment, I put everything in a bowl and mixed with an electric hand mixer. Easy does it. :)  The result was surprisingly great. The texture of the cupcakes was really fine. They have an almost velvety like texture and they are very light and moist. They also have the rich sugary flavour of golden syrup.
Ah, I have to mention that I put some chopped prunes which I happened to have in my cupboard.
So these are really "cupboard cupcakes."

Ingredients

• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter if you prefer) 
• 6 oz golden syrup
• 6 oz SR flour (or Plain flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder (if you use the Plain flour, increase the BP to 2 tsp)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp  Milk

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven 160-180 °c      
2. Put all ingredients in the food processer and mix well. Or put all  ingredients in a bowl and mix with  electric hand mixer.
3. Add more milk if necessary until you achieve the dropping texture  
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin cases in the muffin baking try.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes
6. When the cupcakes are baked, let them stand for 5 minutes in the baking tray, then turn them out. 

Chocolate & orange muffins

Chocolate and orange is a good combination. 

These muffins have a quite pronounced flavour of orange, but they don't have any actual orange segments or even juice. Fresh orange zest really gives an aromatic flavour. 

I added chopped white chocolate to compliment the fresh orange flavour. You could add more white chocolate if you wish.

Ingredients 

• 200g plain flour
• 150g caster sugar 
• 25g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 150ml milk
• 50ml vegetable oil  
• 1 egg
• 50g white chocolate chopped
• zest of 1 orange

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6 and add paper cases to a muffin tray.
2. Measure out dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Measure milk and oil in a large measuring jug. Add egg and whisk well.
4. Add the wet mixture (3) into the dry mixture (2).  Stir until just combined. The mixture will be lumpy. Do NOT over mix.     Then, gently fold in chopped white chocolate and zest of orange.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.