Lemon Buns Take Two

For a while I have had the thought of sticky lemon swirls formulating in my mind, a lighter version of cinnamon swirl buns. I loved the soft, light, workable dough I used to make the Light Lemon Fruit Buns a while ago, and so I decided to use it as the base to create these lemon swirl buns.

They are really simple and fun to make. It involves rolling out the dough and slathering over a layer of zingy lemon curd before rolling them up and cutting into buns. The dough stayed very soft and moist and they were finger licking sticky thanks to the lemon curd which oozed out slightly during cutting and baking.

These are great for a mid morning snack or afternoon tea. Pull off a swirl, nibble around the edge towards the gooey centre, before licking the sweet lemony stickiness off your finger – bliss. Feel free to drizzle them with some lemon icing for extra indulgence.

Sticky Lemon Swirls
Ingredients
350g plain flour
50g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
25g fresh yeast
50g butter
200ml milk
1 egg
Zest of ½ lemon
1/3 jar (110g) lemon curd

Method
Grease a 20cm x 30cm, high sided baking tin. Line it with greaseproof paper and leave two strips overhanging the edges to aid removal after cooking.
Combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast and lemon zest in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add to a jug along with the milk and heat gently until warm but not to hot. (It shouldn’t get hotter than body temperature).
Whisk the egg into the milk and pour over the flour.
Using your fingers bring everything together and then kneed with a dough hook or by hand, for 5 minutes until soft and stretchy.
Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 25 minutes.
Knock back the risen dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a long rectangle and around 5mm thick.
Spread the lemon curd over the surface of the dough. Roll up the dough as tightly as possible, starting at the longest edge until you have a long sausage shape.
Cut the dough into 1 inch (2.5cm) pieces, the lemon curd may ooze slightly, but don’t worry.
Place them into the tin, cut/swirl side up. Leave around 1cm gap between each piece to allow them to rise.
Leave to prove for a further 20-30 minutes until doubled in size.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 230C.
Place the swirls into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and springy when pressed.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the entire lot to a cooling wrack, still attached to the greaseproof paper. Dust with icing sugar.
Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container for around 3 days. Leave them attached to the greaseproof paper, as this will help keep them, moist.

Tea with Bread and Jam

The day started out cold and miserable and so I decided to stay indoors and bake some bread. I found a recipe for Baguettes on ‘Anne’s Food’ another blog I regularly read. Having never attempted them before I decided to give it a shot. The original can be viewed here. She does state that the dough will be “very soft” but I’m not sure what I did wrong but my dough ended up so soft that it actually started to flow across the countertop after I turned it out after proving. I hastily scattered it with lots of extra flour and managed to work it into a more stable dough. Apart from this minor hitch the recipe was very simple to follow and produced a wonderful tasting, light dough with a crisp golden crust.

The overall taste and texture of the bread reminded me more of Ciabatta than a Baguette, not that that’s a bad thing. I will defiantly be making these again. If you want to eat this bread by the afternoon you will need to start preparing it early in the morning as it needs quite a long proving time.

Ciabatta Style Baguettes
(Adapted from ‘Anne’s Food’ blog)

Ingredients
600ml warmed water
800 - 850g strong plain flour
30g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
Extra flour for dusting

Method
Place the flour in a very large mixing bowl and gradually incorporate the water, whilst mixing together using an electric beater and a dough hook.
Add the salt and mix for around 3 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough.
Crumble over the yeast and mix for a further 3-5 minutes. The dough should become very soft and stretchy.
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 3-4 hours.
Line two baking trays with baking paper and lightly dust with flour.
When the dough has doubled in size, tip the batter out onto a very, very well floured surface and divide into two. (The dough will still be extremely soft).
Working quickly shape each half into a long baton shape and transfer each one onto a baking sheet.
Dust each one with a little flour and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 275C and place a cake tin full of water in the base of your oven to create a steamy environment.
Place the breads into the oven and bake for 10minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 200C and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Makes 2 baguettes.


Mango Jam

I bought a couple of mangos as they were ‘buy one get one free’ in my local supermarket. They looked and smelt lovely and ripe but on tasting one I was very disappointed to find it was very fiberous, with an astringent aftertaste. Rather than waiting in the hope that it would improve, I decided to turn it into jam as I find cooking poor quality fruit often improves it no end.

This jam is actually more like a fruit spread, than a jam as it doesn’t set quite as firm as a normal jam. It also doesn’t contain as much sugar, meaning it won’t keep as long but also means it’s not overly sweet and tastes very fresh and strongly of fruit which I prefer. It went wonderfully on the above bread. I should image it would also be great on toast, fruit buns, scones or as a filling for cakes.

It was very quick and easy to make and really transformed the mango, bringing out its sweet tropical flavour and fragrance. The colour is such a vivid, sunny, golden colour that makes it perfect for a summery afternoon tea.

Ingredients
1 large mango
50g caster sugar
160ml water

Method
Heat the oven to 80C and place a jam jar and lid in the oven to sterilize.
Slice and peel the mango into strips. Cut each strip of mango into very small cubes.
Place into a smallish saucepan along with the water and sugar.
Heat on high until the mixture comes to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
After 10 minutes the mango should be very soft and looking bright and translucent. Mash the mango using a potato masher to achieve a thick smooth puree.
Allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the puree as thickened and turned jam like.
Remove the jam jar from the oven and fill with the mango jam. Quickly screw the lid on tightly (using washing up gloves to prevent burns) and allow to cool on the side before refrigerating.
Makes 1 large 370g jar

Light Lemon Fruit Buns

These buns are incredibly light, soft and tender thanks to the addition of the egg and milk in the dough. I wanted to make some buns that were more summery than the spiced buns I often make and so I decided to adapt a recipe for a standard milk loaf and create a more delicate bun. I added lemon zest for a fresh zesty overtone and the colourful apricots and cherries which looked very pretty dotted throughout the dough.

The buns are great eaten as they are, spread with lemon curd or jam and are also great toasted. I even know someone who likes to eat theirs with cheese and marmalade.

These buns are also my entry to this month’s BREAD edition of ‘Waiter There’s Something In My…’ as hosted by Andrew over at SpittoonExtra. You can check out the entry requirements here.

Light Lemon Fruit Buns
Ingredients
350g plain flour
50g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
25g fresh yeast
50g butter
200ml milk
1 egg
Zest of ½ lemon
50g sultanas
45g dried apricots
45g glace cherries

Method
Combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast and lemon zest in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add to a jug along with the milk and heat gently until warm but not to hot. (It shouldn’t get hotter than body temperature).
Whisk the egg into the milk and pour over the flour.
Using your fingers bring everything together and then kneed with a dough hook or by hand, for 5 minutes until soft and stretchy.
Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 25 minutes.
Weigh out the fruit ingredients and chop the apricots and cherries into small pieces using a pair of scissors.
Knock back the risen dough and kneed in the fruit until it is evenly distributed.
Divide the dough into nine even pieces and shape into bun shapes.
Place onto two lightly greased baking trays, loosely cover in cling film and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C.
Brush the surface of the buns with a little milk and place in the oven to bake for 12 minutes. They should be risen and golden brown on top.
Remove from the oven and turn them upside down and place back in the oven for a further 3 minutes to firm up the bases.
Transfer to a cooling wrack and allow to cool before eating or storing in an airtight container.
Makes 9 lemony buns.

Update: The complete round-up of everyones enteries can be viewed here.

Vegetable Bean Chili in Mole Sauce with Cornbread

This is a Mexican themed meal that I made for my family over Easter. It involved two recipes I had never tried before, but I was very pleased with the results.

In the last year I have suddenly developed a taste for hot, spicy yet flavoursome food. I still don’t like food that blows your head off, but I now like food with a good kick to it. A few months ago I went out for my first Mexican meal which was where I had my first taste of vegetables in a chili chocolate sauce. I have since learnt that this is the basis of what is called a Mole sauce and often served over meats in Mexico. An authentic Mole sauce should also include cinnamon, sugar and ground nuts but I decided to just experiment with the chili-chocolate aspect of it for my first attempt. However, being vegetarian I decided to take this concept and incorporate it into a bean chili.

I really enjoyed both creating and eating this dish, it was really delicious and the smells while it was cooking were amazing. The paprika added a smokiness and the ground chilies added a gentle heat that built up the more you ate. The addition of the cocoa powder added a deep richness to the sauce and gave a great aftertaste, not overly chocolaty but the same kind of rich bitterness that lingers on your tongue after eating a square of dark chocolate. I chose to serve this dish with some home made cornbread that was great crumbled over the top to absorb some of the sauce before eating.

Vegetable Bean Chili in Mole Sauce
Ingredients
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 green chilies
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ orange pepper
¼ red pepper
3 tbsp tinned sweetcorn
½ courgette
1 carrot
2 tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground chilies
2 tsp sweet paprika
420g tin black eyed beans
420g tin red kidney beans
270g tin mixed beans
300ml vegetable stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tsp cocoa powder

Method
Peel and very roughly chop the onion and garlic before adding them to a food processor. Split the chilies in half and remove the seeds and add to onion.
Blitz until a smoothish paste has formed (watch your eyes, it packs a punch when you remove the lid).
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan and add the onion/garlic/chili mixture along with the oregano. Cook until softened, but not brown.
Meanwhile finely dice the peppers, carrot and courgette and drain the sweetcorn. Drain the beans into a large sieve and wash under the cold tap to remove any brine.
Add the cumin, paprika and ground chilies to the pan along with the vegetables and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, beans and tinned tomatoes to the pan and bring to the boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 30minutes, stirring every 10minutes to prevent sticking.
Put the cocoa powder into a small bowl and add 1tbsp water and combine to make a smooth runny mixture. Drizzle this into the chili and stir well, the sauce should turn a darker colour and begin to smell chocolaty. Allow to cook for a further 10 minutes, which should allow the sauce to thicken.
Taste and add more ground chili or seasoning to preference.
Serve in big bowls with sour cream, nachos or cornbread.
Serves 5 – 6

Cornbread
(Recipe by Nigella Lawson)
This recipe is really really quick to make and very easy. It is very versatile and tastes great hot from the oven spread with butter or eaten cold with jam or even… nutella. In this case I served it in wedges that people could then crumble over the top of their chili mole beans. Using polenta will give you a grainer texture than cornmeal, but they both work well.

Ingredients
175g cornmeal or polenta
125g plain flour
40g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
45g melted butter
250ml milk

Method
Grease and line an 8inch/20cm tin and preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.
Melt the butter and pour over the flour mix.
Beat the egg into the milk and add to the bowl.
Beat everything together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Pour into the tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and coming away from the slides of the tin.
Serve immediately or allow to cool before gently reheating wedges in the oven, wrapped in foil, when required.

Walnuts for Wet Days

The weather today has been cold, wet, grey and miserable and after scurrying home from uni it left me with no desire to go out in it again. I wanted to bake something to cheer myself up and after a short rummage in the cupboards, which unearthed some dried yeast, I decided to make bread. Afterall, nothing is more spirit lifting than the smell and taste of freshly baked bread. I found a fairly simple recipe for a walnut loaf which I decided to turn into spiced walnut bread by adding mixed spice along with some black treacle to enhance the flavour.

The bread was fun and easy to make and allowed me to get on with some work while it sat proving away in the kitchen. The finished loaf is nice and nutty with a spicy overtone similar to hot cross buns. I think it would make great cheese and pickle sandwiches.

Spiced Walnut Bread
(Adapted from The Big Book of Bread by Anne Sheasby)

Ingredients
350g strong plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp dried fast action yeast
½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp black treacle
55g walnuts
180ml warm water
Milk for glazing

Method
Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the salt, yeast and mixed spice.
Roughly chop the walnuts and add to the flour mixture.
Dissolve the black treacle into the warm water before adding it to the flour mixture, a bit at a time, you might not need all the liquid.
Work the flour mixture together with your fingers until a soft, slightly sticky dough is formed.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for 5 minutes until soft, smooth and elastic.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size.
Once risen, knock back the dough and shape it into a round loaf and place it onto a lightly floured baking sheet.
Leave to rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C.
Brush the surface of the dough with a little milk and place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 190C and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Once cooked the bread should be golden brown in colour and sound hollow when tapped on the base.
Transfer the bread to a wire wrack and allow to cool.
Makes 1 small loaf

Notes:
1) The warm water should be no hotter than blood temperature/feel nicely warm when you dip your fingers into it or else you run the risk of killing the yeast.
2) Suitable places to leave the dough to prove are on a table in direct sunlight, near a radiator, on top of your boiler or in an airing cupboard.