"Kartoffelbrot" German Potato Bread

Yes. This is a potato loaf. A lot of potatoes are in there. When I came across this recipe, I was puzzled how 50:50 potato and flour makes a loaf.  But, here it is. It's soft, moist and more-ish. Although it's a bit of a fiddle to make this humble looking loaf, it's worth the effort. It has very distinctive texture different from any bread I have ever baked. The bouncy texture remains even a day after it is baked. 

Great with a bowl of soup.

Ingredients  

• about 375g/13oz potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks (Exactly 300g/101⁄2oz peeled weight. Check the weight once they are peeled.)
• 1 tsp dried fast-action yeast
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 300g/101⁄2oz strong white flour, plus extra for kneading (or 100g/31⁄2oz strong wholemeal flour and 200g/7oz strong white flour) 

Method

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for 15–20 minutes until they are tender but not falling apart.
2. Drain the potatoes in a colander over a bowl and reserve the cooking liquid. Return the potatoes to the pan and toss over a very low heat for 2-3 minutes until any excess liquid has evaporated.
3. Pour 75ml/5 tbsp of the warm cooking liquid into a large bowl and leave to cool for a few minutes. When it’s lukewarm, sprinkle in the yeast. Stir in the sugar and leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes until a light foam appears on the surface. (Add an extra tablespoon of the cooking liquor for a mixture of wholemeal and white flour.)
4. Mash the potatoes with the oil in the saucepan until they’re as smooth as possible, then stir in the yeast mixture.
5. Mix well with a wooden spoon and gradually add the flour and salt, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring well before adding more. Turn it out on to the work surface and knead the remaining flour into the dough. At this stage, the dough looks dry, do NOT be tempted to add more water otherwise the dough WILL become too sticky to work with.
6. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until soft and pliable. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes, or until well-risen and spongy to touch.
7. Knock back the dough with your knuckles and shape it into a rough ball. Flatten the ball on a floured surface, then bring the sides up to the middle to give a rustic surface to the bread. Sprinkle on some flour. Place it on a lightly oiled and floured baking sheet and leave to prove in a warm place for a further 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C Score the dough with a knife along the pinched join and sprinkle the top with the onion seeds. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes until well risen and crusty on top. Cool on a wire rack. 

Crème brûlée tarts (Post Pavlova tarts)

Previously on "Kyoto.B bakes", I baked a Pavlova using 4 egg whites.  Obviously I had 4 egg yolks leftover. 
I could have made ice cream, mayonnaise, or custard, but in the end I decided to go with "crème brûlée tarts" which are basically posh custard tarts. As I used one egg yolk for the pastry dough, it was easier to work with than using no binding agent at all. And better still, the texture of the pastry melted in my mouth.  So, there was no waste. I used all the leftover egg yolks. Job done. 

I could have made an authentic crème brûlée by sprinkling some sugar on top of the baked tarts and caramelising with a blowtorch. As I don't have such fancy equipment, I just sprinkled demerara sugar on them instead. Just the job. 
I know they are rather chunky looking tarts but I enjoyed the "shortbread" style pastry. 
Of course you can make them as elegant as you wish by making very thin pastry.

Ingredients   (For 12 small tarts)

For Pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 60g icing sugar
• 125g butter, chilled, chopped
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons chilled water

For Custard               

• 300 ml pouring cream
• 1 egg
• 3 egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Method

1. Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water and process until the dough just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC (fan oven).  Grease the muffin baking tray. Roll the dough and cut 12 round thin discs. Place them in the muffin baking tray.
3. Cover the pastry bases with non-stick baking paper. Fill with baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and baking beans. Bake for 6 minutes or until golden. Reduce temperature to 140ºC (fan oven).
4. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Whisk the egg, sugar, vanilla bean paste and extra egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in the cream until combined. Pour the custard mixture into the pastry cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until just set. Sprinkle the tarts with demerara sugar. Set aside to cool completely.

Pavlova

This is my first attempt at the famous "Pavlova." After a few disasters making Merangue, I thought I'd never be able to make this "egg-white wonder."  However, I thought I'd have a go as we have a lot of raspberries growing in our little garden.

It turned out far better than I expected. It had crunch outside and marshmallow texture inside. I'm so happy about the result. The only issue was the colour. It was as white as snow before I put it in the oven, but it came out slightly brown. So I asked my baking friends what I should have done to make it a "VERY white" Pavlova.  So, here is the list to check.

• Set the oven temperature VERY low. Think of "drying" rather than "baking".
• Turn  the temperature down immediately after when the pavlova goes in the oven. 
• Use a "conventional oven" rather than a "fan oven".
• Make pavlova in the evening and leave it to cool in the oven overnight.
• Keep the oven door shut when it's cooling if you want to have a "marshmallow" texture inside.
• Don't worry if it goes a bit beige, it's natural. 
• "The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations, Australia and New Zealand, for many years, but formal research indicates New Zealand as the source,"  according to Wikipedia.

Unfortunately, my oven is fan and does not have a "conventional" option. So, I'll adjust the temperature lower. It's a good idea to make pavlova a day before serving.  Great news for a stress free dinner party. So, here is the updated recipe. 

Ingredients 

For the Base

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 medium free range eggs, at room temperature
• 200g caster sugar 

For the topping

• Your choice of fresh summer fruit 
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 250ml creme fraiche 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan).
2. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment, cutting it to fit. Using a cake tin or plate as a template, draw a 23cm diameter circle on the parchment with a pencil.

3. Place the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract in a small bowl and blend with a teaspoon until smooth.
4. Separate the eggs one at a time, taking care not to include any yolks with the whites.
5. As each egg is separated, tip the white into the large mixing bowl.
 Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff enough to hold their shape.
6. Whisk in the sugar a tablespoonful at a time, adding a little of the cornflour mixture each time.
7. When all the sugar and cornflour has been added, the consistency of the mixture will be thick and marshmallowy.

8. Using the spatula, turn the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet. Spread it to the marked line, then swirl with the spatula, making a slight indentation in the centre for the filling.
9. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 120°C (fan) and bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave the pavlova base to cool completely in the oven.

10. Spread some lemon curd, apricot jam or home-made summer fruit coolee over the indent in the pavlova. Then top up with the creme fraiche and decorate with the summer fruit.

Spiced Apple Muffins

Apple and spices like cinnamon and ginger are a great combo.
I add the spices quite generously as I love the flavour of them.
Chopped apple pieces make the muffins moist but keep them light.
I found if I mix grated apple rather than chopped apples the muffins turn out quite dense. I prefer light muffins like these.
Make sure to add the apple pieces into the dry mixture first to stop the apple pieces sinking to the bottom.
These are great to enjoy when they are still warm.

Ingredients

• 200g Plain flour
• 100g Caster sugar
• 50g Soft brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon powder 
• 2 teaspoons Ginger powder
• ¼  teaspoon Salt
• 90ml Milk
• 80ml Vegetable oil
• 1 large Egg, beaten
• 2 large Apples - peeled, cored and chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C / 180 C (Fan) and add paper cases to a muffin tray.
2. Measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. 
3. Mix the dry ingredients well and then add the chopped apples. Make sure the apple pieces are well coated by the flour mixture.
4. In a separate jug, mix milk, oil, and egg. Stir until just combined.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in but do not over mix.
6. Fill the muffin cases equally. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Chocolate Chip Flapjack

I have been trying adding different things to my basic Flapjack.
There were several unopened bars of dark chocolate in the cupboard.
It was quite a surprise they were even not opened.... !!
Anyway, I chopped one of the bars and added it to my flapjack mixture. Well, it wasn't a bad combo at all. So here it is. The recipe for the chocolate chip Flapjack.
Please just make sure not to add the chopped chocolate when the liquid mixture is still hot.
Otherwise, all the chocolate bits will be integrated to the flapjack. We need the chocolate bits to be seen.

Ingredients 

• 7oz butter or margarine (butter, if you prefer) 
• 2oz golden syrup
• 2 tsp black treacle
• 7oz muscovado sugar
• 12oz porridge oats
• 3oz plain flour
• 100g dark chocolate chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 20cm/8in square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, (oats, flour, sugar, salt and chopped chocolate) in a bowl. 
3. Melt the butter or margarine in a medium pan over a low heat.  Add the golden syrup, black treacle and sugar to the margarine and heat gently. Once the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and wait until the mixture becomes not too hot to prevent the chocolate bits melting. 
4. When the liquid mixture becomes cool enough, stir in the mixed dry ingredients. 
5. Pack the mixture into the baking tin and squash down. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
6. Once cooked, remove from the oven, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a chopping board and cut into squares. 

Cinnamon Buns

I love Cinnamon Buns. These are very sticky, light and very Cinnamony.

It's good to be generous with the cinnamon sugar filling as it gives a very distinct flavour. 

They are great for breakfast, coffee break ...... or anytime really. 

You can add crushed walnuts and/or sultanas in the filling, but I still love the simple Cinnamon flavour. 

Ingredients ( for the dough) 

•      600g (1lb 5oz) strong white flour, plus extra to dust

•      10g fast active dried yeast

•      100g (3½oz) caster sugar

•      275ml (9fl oz) milk

•      1 medium egg

•      50g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease

Ingredients (for the filling and topping)

•      40g (1½oz) unsalted butter, very soft

•      60g (2½oz) caster sugar

•      2 tsp (or more) ground cinnamon

•      50g (2oz) pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

•      50g (2oz) sultanas

•      125g (4oz) icing sugar

Method

1      Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir though the yeast, sugar and 1tsp salt. Heat the milk until it's just warm (too hot and it will stop the yeast from working). Whisk in the egg and melted butter, then add to the flour bowl in one go. Quickly mix to a soft but not sticky dough.

2      Scrape dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 min until elastic and smooth. Transfer to a large greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until well risen (about 2hrs).

3      If you have time, take dough out of the bowl, knead it to burst any air bubbles, then return to the bowl. Cover and leave to rise for a further 30min (this will help develop the flavour).

4      Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Lightly dust a work surface and roll out dough to a rectangle roughly 23cm x 38cm (9in x 15in). Arrange so a long edge is in front of you, then spread butter with your finger over the rectangle (right to the edges), and scatter over sugar, cinnamon, nuts and sultanas.

5      Brush the long edge furthest away from you with water (to help it stick). Roll up the dough tightly starting from the nearest edge - keeping it as round as possible, and pressing lightly to seal on the watered edge.

6      Cut roll into 2.5cm (1in) slices and arrange swirl-side up on the baking sheet (leaving space between the rolls to allow for expansion). Loosely cover with greased clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 30min to 1 hour.

7      Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Remove clingfilm and bake buns for 25-30min until nicely golden and well risen. Five minutes before buns are finished baking, sift icing sugar into a bowl and mix in just enough water to make icing with a smooth, thick, spoonable consistency.

8      As soon as the buns come out of the oven, spoon over the icing and leave to set. Serve warm or at room temperature.