Glazed Yeast Doughnuts

There are few desserts that I can eat 7 or 8 of in one sitting.

Seven cupcakes?  I’d do my best, but nah…

Eight scoops of ice cream?  Nope…

Seven pieces of pie?  No way!!

Seven or eight warm homemade glazed doughnuts?

*Gulp*  Ten.  Easily.

No kidding.  These are a sweet, light, fluffy, circle of joy.  Warm out of the fryer and then dipped in a vanilla or chocolate glaze.    Gets me every time.    I make a large batch for the family to enjoy and then immediately box up the rest to give away.  You can’t keep this stuff just lying around.

It’s lethal.

This is a perfect Sunday morning activity to do with the whole family.   We fried some with holes and some without.  No filling needed.

We dipped.

We double dipped.

We, errr… triple dipped too.

See the pink ones below?  Just a dab of coloured gel in the your glaze.  Easy peasy.

Do you share my love of the doughnut?  I can’t wait to hear about it!!

Glazed Yeast Doughnut

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 pkg (8 grams) – instant yeast, quick rise
•  3 tbsp honey (I use creamed honey)
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk, heated to 115 degrees
• 3 egg yolks
• enough oil for frying

1.  Mix cake flour, salt, yeast, honey and shortening in a large bowl.   Slowly add the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.  Add one cup of the all-purpose flour and the egg yolks.  Add another cup of all-purpose flour and mix just until combined.  The dough will be sticky.  Dump the dough onto a counter and knead for 8 minutes adding just enough flour to allow you to knead without it sticking to the counter (add as little as possible).    The dough ball will be very soft and moist.

2.  Place the dough back in the bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (overnight is good too!!).

3.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface (to about 1/2″ thickness).  Cut out with a doughnut cutter or use a biscuit cutter.  I used a 2″ biscuit cutter and an icing tip for the hole.

4.  Let doughnuts rise on a flour dusted parchment lined baking sheet (cover them up with a towel!).  Once doubled in size (about 1/2 an hour), they are ready to fry in oil heated to 350 degrees!  Fry on each side for approx.     1 1/2 minutes per side.  No more!  Drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.

Glaze while still warm.

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-4 tbsp warm milk – just enough to make the glaze pouring consistency

1.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl and dip the warm doughnuts in.

*for the chocolate, I used the same glaze above but added 3-4 tbsp of dark cocoa powder

New Year’s Brunch Panettone Bread Pudding

I can’t believe how fast January 2013 has arrived.  Happy New Year friends!

My husband and I were chatting while he was taking the pictures for this post.

That in itself is not earth shattering….but we were having a real honest to goodness food bloggers heart to heart.   He takes all of my pictures for me.  Well, and thank goodness for that because if you looked at some of my earlier photographs you may have been thinking I should just pack this whole thing in.

Through mouthfuls of bread pudding I was asking him what he’s learned about food blogging this past year.   I was hoping for something profound to really kick-start this post.

He said….“You really stress me out.”

That’s not really what I was hoping for.  He says I’m really hard to work for and the pay stinks.  Well honestly?

He’s probably right.

Darn.

But we are a good team.  And we have made some pretty yummy posts this year.

And met some pretty amazing people from all over the world.

Like you!

Thank you for another great year.   And for your positive comments and your food love.  We feel it.  We love it!  All the best to you in 2013.

Check out this New Year’s Brunch Panettone Bread Pudding.   This is so simple to throw together, yet looks so yummy when plated.  You can make it in a dessert pan or in individual ramekins, both of which I have pictured here.   Top it with a dusting of powdered sugar or a yummy Champagne Zabaglione.   It can be made ahead too, which makes for a perfect brunch idea!

There are crusty parts and yummy custardy parts and raisin and cranberry parts.  All  mixed with a hint of eggnog flavour.  I am just smitten with this bread pudding.

New Year’s Bruch Panettone Bread Pudding

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

*adapted from foodnetwork.com

• 1 (1-pound) loaf panettone bread, crusts trimmed, bread cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half and half cream
• 2 1/2 cups eggnog
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish or individual ramekins. Arrange the bread cubes in a large bowl.   Whisk the eggs, cream, eggnog, and sugar to blend.  Pour the custard over the bread cubes, and press the bread cubes gently to submerge.  Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the custard mixture. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.).

2.  Poor into prepared pans.  Place pans in a larger pan that is filled with about an inch of warm water.  Bake until the pudding puffs and is set in the center, about 45 minutes.  Serve warm.

Praline-Apple Fig Bread with Rum Butter

The week has been a bit hectic around here.   Maybe you’re following closely or you’ve been affected by the terrible weather that has damaged many homes on the US East Coast and made for some miserable days in parts of Canada.  We were very lucky here to only have some storm weather with few power outages.

I think the weather along with the usual ups and downs of family life has left me feeling kind of reflective and unsettled about things.    Dusting off some of my grandmothers treasures this morning I was wondering what she would think about how the world is today.   I was feeling really lucky that my children and husband were just hanging out at home while I did all of the mom things that they depend on me for.

While they watched movies and vegged out in that way that teens do, I headed into the kitchen for some comfort of my own.    The process of kneading breads and baking goodies seems to be so therapeutic for me sometimes.   The typical stress and chaos of the world around me seems to be absolved with an afternoon in the kitchen.  It helps me focus on the things that make me happy and fills me up with positive feelings.  Kind of like the effects of an afternoon with an old friend.

I’m curious to know, what’s your place of comfort?

I sure hope that some of my readers in the US are safe and warm and with family today.  I’m sending you all a little piece of virtual comfort in the form of warm Praline- Apple Fig Bread.   It’s moist and nutty and full of fall apples and fresh figs.  This bread is amazing on its own, but to ramp it up a bit I also made a Rum Butter.  Wow.

Praline-Apple Fig Bread

Adapted from myrecipes.com

*preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled apples
• 2 fresh figs, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1. Beat sour cream, sugar and eggs at low-speed for 2 minutes or until well blended.  Add vanilla.
2. Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Add to sour cream mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in apples and figs. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.
3. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
4. Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly;let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread
5. Note:   This bread freezes well.

Rum Butter

Remember the rum syrup I made here?  Make it and allow it to cool completely.  Stir about 2 tbsp into a 1/4 cup of whipped unsalted butter.  Delish.

Peach Fritters

My dad is a great story-teller.   It’s something that I love about him and a bond that we share.  I love to hear the stories of his childhood in a small fishing village.  I love to hear stories about my ancestors and my heritage.  And I appreciate every one of them because they make the generations past seem real to me.

This year for my birthday he gave me the best gift.

He gave me an old cookbook that was my great-grandfathers.  My father is named after him and he died in 1927 in an accident.  He was a cook on a tug boat and my grandmother got this book when they went to retrieve his body and belongings.   It just made me feel so much more that cooking must be in my genes.   That I’m doing the right thing.

I decided to try the recipe for Fruit Fritters that was in there.  I love how some of the pages are marked with pencil and some have drops of  whatever on them.

I wonder, did he make the Fruit Fritters?

On my card my dad said that my great-grandfather would have been proud of the work I have done in the kitchen.

Gosh, that is just the best gift isn’t it?

For my fritters I used peaches.  It’s peach season around here and they are big and juicy and so sweet.  Apples would be good too.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 4-5 medium peaches, peeled and sliced into 1 inch slices
• powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Add milk and eggs and mix until smooth.

2.  Heat canola oil to 350° in a deep pan or fryer.  Batter peach slices and gently drop into oil.  Fry for 3-5 minutes.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Best eaten warm.

Lemon Lime Breakfast Rolls

I have to apologize right up front for the lack of photo’s here.  These fresh and warm Lemon Lime Breakfast Rolls were eaten up pretty fast!

Remember here, when I made my Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns?  Serious ooey goey business and so yummy on a lazy week-end morning.  These are the same idea, I used the same dough recipe but I added a tangy lemon/lime mix just before rolling them up.

These were a huge hit on a cold and dreary spring morning.  There is nothing better than taking warm bread out of the oven on a cold day.  It fills the whole house with the most amazing smell.  The beauty of these kind of breakfast treats is that they can be made well ahead of time and frozen before the second rise.  Just pop these in the oven when you wake up!

I topped these with a simple Cream Cheese Glaze while they were still warm.  When the whole week is spent waking with the dreaded sound of an alarm clock, I relish the days when I can wake up on my own time with a pot of strong coffee and some breakfast pastries.  Right off the bat I know this is going to be a good day.

On another quick note, I just wanted to share with you that this week-end my family participated in the annual Multiple Sclerosis Supercities Walk.  It’s a charity near and dear to my heart.  My daughter and I baked up some goodies for their cake table this year.  What an honour for us!

Enjoy!

Make the same dough recipe that I used here and follow the same directions for the rolls.

Lemon Lime Filling

Note: this is enough filling for one batch of lemon lime rolls.  The dough yields enough for two batches.

• 6 lemons zested
• 2 limes zested
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

1.  Put the lemon and lime zest in a bowl with the white sugar and mix with your fingers coating the zest with the sugar.  This will release an amazing citrus smell!

2.  The dough recipe will give you enough for two batches of rolls. One for now and one to freeze! Roll out one half, on a lightly floured surface. Make a rectangle, about 10 x 8 inches, with the long end facing you. Spread rectangle with butter and top with the zest mixture.

3.  Start at the long end farthest from you, and begin to roll the dough into one long tube. Cut the tube into 12 even portions and place side by side in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

4.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven, invert on a plate if you wish, and drizzle glaze on top.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 0z cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1.  Whisk all ingredients together and continue to add lemon juice until you reach the glaze consistency you desire.  Spread on warm rolls.

Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns with Toasted Pecans and Raisins

A little over a year ago I started making a lot of our bread from scratch.  There is nothing more delicious with a meal than a warm loaf of bread right out of the oven.  See?  My repertoire is more than just dessert!  And, I know exactly what is in it and I can add whole wheat and other healthy goodies to suit everyone’s needs.   I actually have a recipe for a killer loaf of honey and oatmeal bread, but that is another post!

This morning I made some white bread dough and used it for these….

This is one of the few things that propels me to mommy greatness.  A warm batch of Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns.  All of my kids love cinnamon buns and this recipe is so easy to prepare.  I like to make a double batch and freeze them so I can bake them as a treat before school sometimes.  What a great way to wake up and start the day!

You know how the middle piece is the gooey-est, sweetest part?  Full of cinnamon and brown sugar syrup.  Finger lickin, sticky, sweet….amazing.

Some people are really intimidated by the yeast thing.  Honestly, once you’ve done it, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is.  This recipe uses instant yeast, which makes things even more simple.  This does take some time however, so give yourself 4 hours from start to finish.   You can use this dough to make a plain white bread, cinnamon swirl bread and dinner rolls too.  It’s very versatile.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking With Candra’s Homemade White Bread.  She has a great site and her tutorials are fantastic for newbie bread makers.

*yield is 2 batches of dough, approx 12 rolls in each

• 5 1/2 - 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast, quick rise
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 cups warm water, 110 degrees

Apple Filling

*this is enough for one batch of cinnamon buns

• 2 tart cooking apples, peeled and thinly chopped
• 1 tbsp flour
•  1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (use this to spread on dough before adding filling in step 5)

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
• 1 tsp milk, more as needed
• a few drops of vanilla

1.  First, make the glaze:  add milk and vanilla to sugar only a few drops at a time until you reach desired consistency.  It should just be thin enough to drizzle, almost syrup consistency.  Keep at room temperature until buns are baked.

2. Next make the apple filling: combine all apple filling ingredients, except pecans and raisins, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes on low, just until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add pecans and raisins. Cool to room temperature.

3.  For the bread dough: in a stand mixer, with the dough hook, add 3 cups of the flour, honey, butter and yeast.  Mix for about 1 minute, until combined.

4.  Add the water, salt and 1 more cup of flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Add the egg and one more cup of flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Add the last cup of flour a little at a time.  The dough should be forming a ball and sticking to your dough hook.  It will begin to come away from the sides of the mixing bowl.  Add just enough flour so that your ball of dough is no longer sticky.

5.  Place dough in a large bowl that has been greased with some shortening or olive oil.  Turn the dough around in the bowl for a few seconds so that the top of it is slightly greased as well.  Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and place a tea towel on top.  I usually stick my bowl in the oven with the light on while it rises.  Let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

6.  Punch down the dough in the bowl and cut it in half.  This will give you enough for two batches of rolls.  One for now and one to freeze!  Roll out one half, on a lightly floured surface.  Make a rectangle, about 10 x 8 inches, with the long end facing you.   Spread rectangle with butter and top with the cooled apple filling.  Start at the long end farthest from you, and begin to roll the dough into one long tube.  Cut the tube into 12 even portions and place side by side in a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Note:  I like to sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon on the bottom of my greased pan before I place the cinnamon rolls on top (about 2 tbsp sugar and a generous pinch of cinnamon).   The creates a yummy gooey sauce on the bottom of the rolls.  Cover again with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour.

7.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven, invert on a plate if you wish, and drizzle glaze on top.

8.  Repeat with second ball of dough.  This time, you can prepare the rolls and freeze them in a greased pan , covered well with plastic wrap.  Remove from the freezer the night before you want to bake them.  They will do their second rise in the fridge over night.  Just pop them in the oven in the morning.  Or, make dinner rolls!  Roll bread dough into small balls (about 2 inches in diameter) and place side by side in a greased 9 x 13 pan.   Cover and allow to rise for an hour.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Remove immediately from pan once done in the oven and allow to cool.

Buttermilk Scones with Clotted Cream

What a beautiful morning!  The sun is shining through every window and I can hear the birds outside!  It’s a bit unusual though because my house is eerily quiet and I’m the only one home this morning.  It’s just me and the dog.

I must say the peace is heavenly…..

O.K. ….two really important things are happening today…

First, it’s my friend’s birthday.  Happy Birthday girl!  She lives in London, England and is currently roaming the streets of Italy with another friend of ours.  I am so jealous, envious, HAPPY for them!  They will be eating great food and drinking great wine.   Cheers to you my friend, have a wonderful day.

Second, I made Clotted Cream yesterday and am feeling all smug and proud of myself.  It’s a cross between butter and whipped cream.  I sometimes buy English Double Devon as a treat for myself but it is hard to find and costly.   My girlfriend and I had a Cream Tea on one of my last nights in England a few years ago and it was “lovely’ as she says.  Homemade scones piled high with Clotted Cream and preserves, and of course a cup of tea.  Delish.   How appropriate that I made it the day before her birthday then.  And here I sit, birthday morning, thinking of my friend, eating one of these goodies with the homemade preserves I made here.

The Clotted Cream is ridiculously easy.  Almost embarrassing frankly, for my inflated ego at the moment.  Use the heaviest whipping cream you can find, with a high fat content (mine was 35%).  Pour 4 cups into a heavy-bottomed oven safe pan.  Cover and place in the oven at 180° and leave it for 12 hours.  Untouched.  Done.  No kidding.  Remove after 12 hours (try not to slosh the cream during transport) and allow to cool for about an hour.  Place in the fridge over night and tah-dah!  When you wake, there will be a glorious, thick layer of clotted cream on top.  Skim off with a slotted spoon and put in a jar.  Use on scones, pancakes, muffins, etc.  The remaining heavy cream can still be used for baking.  Shamelessly easy, but still feelin smug.

The scones are Buttermilk Scones from Nigella Lawson.  These are not sweet which makes them a perfect fit for cream and preserves.  So easy to make and I made them this morning in under 1/2 hour.  One of the reasons scones tend to be so dry is because they are baked far too long.  Twelve minutes is all that’s needed.   Once the scones are dry on the bottom, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Nigella Lawson’s Buttermilk Scones

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons soft vegetable shortening
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten, for an egg wash (optional)
• 1 large lipped baking sheet or half sheet pan
• 1 (2-inch) biscuit cutter, preferably fluted

Preheat the oven to 425° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

1.  Put the flour into a bowl with the baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Chop the butter and the vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour. Rub the fats into the flour – or just mix any old how – and then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.

2..Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough into a round-edged oblong about 1 3/4 inches thick and cut out 2-inch scones with a biscuit cutter. (Mine are never a uniform height, as I only pat the dough into its shape without worrying whether it’s irregular or not.)

3.  Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet, and brush with beaten egg (to give golden tops) or not as you wish.

4.  Bake for 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel. Remove them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and your favourite jam.