Showing posts with label tea breads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea breads. Show all posts
We were invited to some good friends of ours yesterday for lunch. Whenever I am invited to someone's home for a meal I like to bring a hostess gift.
Sometimes its flowers, sometimes after dinner mints, sometimes a bottle of nice drink, or a box of chocolates . . . just something I know or think or hope that the hostess and her family will enjoy.
Yesterday, I decided to do something a tiny bit different and instead I baked a lovely tea loaf/bread to bring as a gift.
This is a recipe that I have shared on here in the past. Almond Glazed Poppy Seed Bread. It is a recipe that I baked often when I worked at the Manor.
It was a favourite of the Mrs and her friends. It bakes into two lovely loaves, so it is perfect for gifting. You get one to keep for yourself and one to share!
You can also choose to bake it in a decorative Bundt pan, which is what I did at the Manor. It looks very impressive when done, and glazed. Of course the bake time is a bit longer than it would be in two loaf pans.
I would add fifteen minutes to the time and then check it. I doubt it would take much longer than that, but do check it at an hour anyways, just in case. I always do.
This cake uses a mixture of flavourings, which might seem a bit odd when you look at them, but they work incredibly well together.
Vanilla, almond, lemon and orange extracts. It seems a lot, but trust me, they work beautifully in sync with each other.
Then you have the subtle crunch of poppy seeds. I don't know about you, but I love poppy seed anything.
Another thing I love about this loaf is that you just bung everything into a bowl and beat it together.
Simple, there is no creaming, beating, creaming, sifting, faffing about . . . just bung it all into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until blended.
I like to line the loaf tins with baking paper. Actually I have loaf tin baking paper liners, kind of like cupcake liners.
They save a bit of time, and nothing ever sticks. Nothing. It also makes it very easy to lift the loafs out of the tin onto a rack to cool when done.
Another beautiful aspect of this lovely loaf is the crunchy sugar glaze that gets spooned over the loaves when you remove them from the oven.
Granulated sugar gets whisked together with orange juice, almond and vanilla extracts and then spooned over the warm loaves to make a delicious crust.
These delicious loaves will keep for up to a week in an air tight container and will keep frozen for several months. If freezing, I would not glaze until you take it out of the freezer and are ready to serve. (In that case I would warm the glaze a bit.)
Yield: 2 large loaves
Almond Glazed Poppy Seed Bread
prep time: 15 mins cook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 mins
This is a dense, moist and delicious tea bread,with fabulous flavours and a sweet almond glaze topping.
ingredients:
420g of plain flour (3 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 large free range eggs
335ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)
125g of butter at room temperature (1/2 cup)
115ml of sunflower oil (1/2 cup)
430g of sugar (2 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 TBS poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp orange extract
Almond Glaze:
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
60ml of orange juice (1/4 cup)
145g of sugar (3/4 cup)
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and flour two large loaf tins. Set aside.
Sift
the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl. Mix
together the remaining ingredients and add, then beat together with an
electric mixer for about 2 minutes until well combined. Divide between
the two prepared loaf tins.
Bake for one hour, or until a
toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top springs
back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes
before removing to a wire rack. Stir together the glaze ingredients
until the sugar is somewhat dissolved. Spoon over the loaves while they
are still warm. Allow to cool completely, then wrap in foil or store
in an airtight container. These also freeze well.
Sift
the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl. Mix
together the remaining ingredients and add, then beat together with an
electric mixer for about 2 minutes until well combined. Divide between
the two prepared loaf tins.
Bake for one hour, or until a
toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top springs
back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes
before removing to a wire rack. Stir together the glaze ingredients
until the sugar is somewhat dissolved. Spoon over the loaves while they
are still warm. Allow to cool completely, then wrap in foil or store
in an airtight container. These also freeze well.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I have never had anyone act disappointed when I gift them with one of these. Bake it and you will see why! 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.
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This is not something which we ever really ate as a cereal when I was growing up and it's not something I would eat as a cereal now.
It's rather hard and crunchy, but it is great for baking with! Back home in Eastern Canada it is also used in Ice Cream. Grape Nuts Ice Cream was always a real favourite in our house and I do belive that it is my mother's favourite kind, or at least it was.
This old, old recipe always turns out lovely. Sweet with little crunchy nubbles throughout.
308ml of whole milk, scalded (1 1/3 cups)
3 TBS softened butter
80g Grape-Nuts brand cereal nubbles (2/3 cup)
280g plain flour (2 cups)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
125g granulated sugar (2/3 cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten lightly
Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2
inch loaf tin really well and line with baking paper. Alternately use
the paper baking liners you can buy for loaf tins that are like muffin
papers. (My preference)
Scald the milk and add the butter.
Stir to melt the butter. Stir in the cereal nubbles and the sugar.
Cool to lukewarm and beat in the egg. Sift the flour and baking powder
together. Whisk in the salt. Add to the milk mixture and stir together
just to combine. Pour into your prepared loaf tin.
Bake
for about 1 hour until risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in
the centre comes out clean. Tip out onto a wire rack to cool. Store in
an airtight wrapper. Cut into slices to serve, buttered. It also
makes nice sandwiches with sliced meats or chicken salad.
It's really hard and crunchy, but softens somewhat in the ice cream so that it almost becomes nutty, and it is the same with this old fashioned tea bread I am showing you today.
The cereal imparts little nutty flavoured bits throughout the bread, which never entirely soften, but remain a bit chewy and nicely flavoured.
I had not made this in years, but upon spying a box of Grape Nuts at the shops the other day I was motivated to pick up a box and bring it home so that I could bake this tasty loaf of nostalgia.
Its lovely served cold and sliced into thin slices which are buttered with softened butter . . . it's great warm as well, especially toasted, and yes once again, slathered in butter.
Its awfully nice used to make chicken salad sandwiches. Its just plain good. I even enjoy it in thin slices with nothing on it . . . just eaten out of hand. I like to think I am eating something healthy, but I probably am not. Oh well . . .
*Grape Nuts Bread*
Makes one medium loaf
Why not bake some nostalgia for yourself today! I am sure you would enjoy. Bon Appetit!
I have to say I am really enjoying my healthier eating lifestyle these days. I have not had a piece of chocolate in over three weeks now, nor have I had any cookies, cakes, candy bars, wine gums, etc. I have banned sugar from my life along with white flour . . . it's been a bit of a challenge, but it can be done and putting on a pair of trousers today that is two sizes smaller than I was wearing a month ago feels good.
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