Showing posts with label coffee break. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee break. Show all posts
I am a huge fan of Puff Pastry. Who isn't? I always have some in the refrigerator or freezer. I only buy the all butter kind.
It is well worth any additional expense for that in both texture and flavour. I am also a huge fan of lemon curd. I often make my own.
You can find my recipe for that here. It's really good, but a good commercial lemon curd will also work well in this recipe.
This recipe combines my two great loves. Puff pastry and Lemon Curd, in a most delicious way.
This is a beautiful bake which looks a lot more complicated than it is. If you have all of the elements ready prior to putting the finished braid together, it goes together very quickly.
Make sure your puff pastry is nice and cold and you will have no problem with it.
It does stretch a bit as you are overlapping it as it warms up, but that's no problem, just work quickly from as cold a pastry as you can. If you need to pop the tray back into the refrigerator after you score and cut it prior to braiding it, then do it.
Its worth the extra time that it will take to do so. But really, if you work quickly it won't be necessary.
This is just so delicious!
I do the same thing at Christmas with mincemeat and its gorgeous as well.
Lemon curd though . . . you can't beat it. this goes down very well with a nice hot drink in the morning for your coffee break, or for a leisurely weekend brunch!
*Lemon and Cheese Puff*
Serves 6 to 8Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside. If you have all of your ingredients ready to go, it goes together in a flash.
Whisk together the cream cheese, icing sugar, corn flour and vanilla. Set aside.
Unroll your puff pastry onto the lined baking sheet. Lightly score the
pastry (don't cut all the way through) into thirds lengthwise. On each
outside third, at the top of the pastry, slice off and discard a strip
at a downward angle. (see photo)
Cut slashes from this edge at the same
angle at 1 inch intervals all the way down to the bottom on each side
until you get to the bottom. You should have a small triangle of pastry
at the bottom of each side, remove and discard.
Spread your lemon curd down the centre strip of the pastry, taking care to keep it in the middle, gently spreading it out with the back of a spoon.
Top with the cream cheese mixture.
Working your way down the slice, fold a strip from the left hand side
over top of the feeling. (see photo) Repeat with a strip from the right
hand side covering the filling and crossing over the other strip, repeat
all the way down to make a braid.
You can fold any end bits up over the
edge to help enclose the filling.
Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until well risen,
puffed and golden brown. Leave to cool for about half an hour.
Dust
with icing sugar and cut into slices to serve. Any leftovers can be
stored in the refrigerator.
I hope that you can make sense of my instructions and photographs! I really hope you'll try it. I think you will agree with me that is easy to make and quite delicious! Bon Appetit!
When I first moved over here to the UK, I knew I wouldn't be able to bring any of my cookbooks with me at that time. (IS it possible that it was almost 17 years now!
My time does fly when you are having fun!) Instead I took a small notebook and wrote down all of my favourite recipes and tried and tries that I didn't want to leave behind. It was a lot easier to carry a notebook with me than a bookcase. 😏
Golden Harvest Muffins was one of the recipes I had written down in that book. Adapted from a recipe which had been published in a Taste of Home Magazine, it has long been one of our favourite muffin recipes!
That says a lot as I have been baking muffins for quite a few years now. I do sos love muffins.
No surprise there! It is stogged full of lovely things. Not on but two flours.
There is a healthy combination of white and whole wheat flours, means that they contain an extra bit of healthy fibre.
Grated carrot and apple help towards your five a day . . . (don't burst my bubble, lol)You can't beat getting in a bit of extra fruit and vegetables really.
And what a way to get some of them in!
With grated coconut, and chopped toasted walnuts for a bit of crunchy, moreish nuttiness. I like to toast my nuts first. I always do that when baking.
Toasted nuts just taste nuttier. It is a simple thing to do. Just pop your nuts onto a baking sheet and toast them in a hot oven (190*C/375*F) for about 8 to 10 minutes. They will smell nice and nutty when they are done.
These are studded with sticky raisins. These lovely muffins are little powerhouses of flavour and texture!
Filled with scrumptiously tasty goodness!
They are moist and filled with delicious! The recipe does make a lot (36) but no worries, these are perfect for sharing.
Of course they freeze very well. Just pop them into an airtight container and pop it into the freezer.
These are perfect for keeping in the deep freeze. Wrap them up individually and then pop them into a hard container. Then you can take one out as and when you want it.
These are the perfect portable for your tea or coffee break. They make a nice addition for your lunch also, just add some carrot and celery sticks and Bob's your Uncle!
*Golden Harvest Muffins*
Makes 24 large muffins
350ml vegetable oil (1 1/2 cups)
120ml milk (1/2 cup)
4 tsp vanilla
3 large free range eggs, beaten
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 2 large
muffin tins really well, or line with paper liners, buttering the top of
the tin. Set aside.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Store in an airtight container.
Hearty, simple to make and most delicious! What more could a person want?
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Coffee & Cardamom Loaf. I really love teabreads, loafs. By that I mean a sweet quick bread that is meant to be served with a hot cuppa, not a bread made with tea.
One of my favourite cooking magazines over here in the UK is the Good Food Cooking magazine. I used to have a subscription, but when I lost my job it wasn't something I could afford and so now I only pick it up when there are recipes in it that I am particularly interested in.
The latest issue had a great recipe in it for a basic loaf cake right on the very last page, with some variations on it. I thought this variation sounded delicious!
I just love coffee flavoured cakes and cookies. One of my favourite Canadian Candy Bars is the Coffee Crisp and I always call dibs on the coffee flavoured chocolates in the Roses Chocolate Box!
(They are in the green wrapper!) I have not had a coffee crisp in a very long time now. Sigh . . .
Back to the cake. This is a very simple all in one cake, meaning you just pile all of the ingredients into the bowl and beat them together, then scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake. Easy peasy.
I love all in one cakes. Especially when they combine flavours such as this one has. Coffee? Love that flavour. Cardamom? Love that flavour also. Coffee & Cardamom together? This HAS to be great!
I had some instant vanilla flavoured coffee left from my last Degustabox and that is what I used for the coffee needed for the cake and the frosting. Some good!
I didn't have any plain yogurt and so I used buttermilk with excellent results! Handy tip here, if you have a recipe calling for yogurt, or buttermilk or sour cream, you can usually interchange them, or make your own sour milk as well.
It makes a cake which is just the right size. Loaf size. Cutting into 8 thick slices. Just perfect for us.
The coffee icing gets spread onto the cooled loaf and I created a white cardamom flavoured drizzle to decorate it with. It looked very nice when it was all done.
The two together looked really pretty I thought. Tasted nice too! This is a really fabulous cake. I highly recommend!
*Coffee & Cardamom Loaf*
Makes one 2 lb loaf cake
For the cake:
175g unsalted butter (3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter and base line a 2 pound loaf tin. Set aside.
Place the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, buttermilk, coffee, cardamom and salt into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until smooth. Spread into the prepared baking tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before tipping out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
To make the Coffee Icing, whisk the ingredients
together until smooth. Spoon over the cooled cake. Allow to set before
proceeding with the optional cardamom drizzle. To make the cardamom
drizzle, whisk those ingredients together until smooth, only adding
enough water to give you a smooth drizzle. Flick it over the top of the
set coffee icing. Allow to set before cutting the loaf into thick slices
to serve.You should get 8 servings.
We both really loved this cake. It went down well with a hot drink and had a lovely coffee flavour. I think next time I will increase the cardamom in the batter slightly. The original recipe called for the seeds from four pods ground, and I erred on the side of caution by adding what I did of the ground. next time I might add a bit more. I hope you will bake it. I am sure you will love it! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
I really, really like muffins. I really, really, REALLY like chocolate chip muffins, and not the double chocolate chip muffins, but the yellow buttery cake type of chocolate chip muffins.
This is an EXCELLENT recipe for those. It might look like a very basic muffin, and it is. Simple ingredients.
Simple to put together . . . but that is where simple ends because this muffin is anything but simple when it comes to taste.
Moist and buttery and stogged full of chocolate chips, this is the most delicious chocolate chip muffin you could ever want to eat.
So delicious its dangerous, but no worries there because it only makes six muffins.
Just enough for a small family like us, just the two of us.
You can double it if you wish, but if you are looking for a small batch recipe, that only makes a half a dozen muffins and is tremendously delicious . . . this IS the one for you!
I can't believe I am telling you this, but . . . true confessions here. I baked them this morning and have eaten two already.
These are dangerously good and now you know why I only bake six at a time. I cannot be trusted with any more than that. The simple truth.
*Small Batch Chocolate Chip Muffins*
Makes 6 medium muffins
(or 12 mini muffins)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a six cup muffin tray with paper liners, or butter really well. Set aside.
Cream
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg
and vanilla. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to
the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream,mixing just to
combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter between the
muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes
until well risen and golden brown. (9 to 12 minutes for mini muffins)
Remove to a wire rack and cool. Delicious served fresh and slightly
warm.
If you don't run right into the kitchen today and bake these I am warning you, you will be missing out on something really, really special. Bon appetit!
I actually baked these cookies in early December and am only now just getting to where I can show them to you. There were just so many other things in the queue! That's the holidays for you!
So, Hot Cocoa Cookies. I have adapted this recipe from one that I found on The Recipe Critic. From the moment I saw them, they were cookies that I really wanted to bake.
She got the recipe from Rachel Ray, and well, who knows who Rachel Ray got it from. Maybe Martha Stewart. As they say there is really nothing new under the sun, only new ways of doing things.
With these you get a lovely fudgy, almost "brownie-like" cookie . . . soft and chewy in the middle, just like a good brownie should be . . . Take care not to overbake them . . . to do so would take away from that
brownie-ness. There is some more chocolate tucked underneath the
marshmallow. You bake the cookies first and then add the chocolate to
the top and cover with half a marshmallow, returning them to the oven
very briefly to melt the marshmallow.
Mmmm
. . . these are so good. Just like a warm mug of hot cocoa and a hug. I dusted
them with a bit of cocoa powder just to dress them up a bit. I thought
it looked quite pretty and so did the people I gifted them to.
Delicious was the verdict!
*Hot Cocoa Cookies*
Makes about 4 dozen
Melt
the butter along with the chocolate chips over low heat in a large
saucepan. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for about 15
minutes. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and
salt. Beat the sugar into the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and the flour
mixture until you have a smooth mixture. It will be like a thick batter
but not stiff like a cookie batter. Cover and chill in the
refrigerator for at least an hour until firm.
Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/gas mark 3. Line several baking sheets with baking paper.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the baking paper lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space in between. Press down lightly with your fingers to flatten the balls slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes or just until the cookies are puffed and begin to crack. While they are baking cut the marshmallows in half. Top the cut side with 3 or 4 chocolate chips. Take the cookies from the oven and top each with a marshmallow half, cut/chocolate side down. Return to the oven for a further 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Dust with a bit of cocoa powder. Store in an airight container with wax paper in between.
These are sure to become a real favourite with the family. I hope you will give them a go! Bon Appetit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons