Gingerbread Cinnamon Buns

Another day of staying at home because of snow day.  It snowed late morning yesterday and even though there was not much accumulation, the snow has turned into a thin coat of ice this morning.  The school was canceled which meant I didn't have to go to work either.  Honestly I didn't feel like going to work :)  I have to drive uphill to my work and if the roads weren't cleared, which sometimes can happen, I'd rather stay home.

Because of that, I had quite a bit of time at home right now.  I ventured out to the back yard to take photos of icicles and then went back to do the same with my fruitcake.  Yes, I made a fruitcake yesterday afternoon.  No, it isn't a brick-heavy one; this is a lighter fruit cake from a Mary Berry's recipes.  I made this first last month and we really loved it.  It is rather cakey with lots of dried sour cherries, raisins, and fruitcake mix.  Some people are turned off by that fruitcake mix, but I don't mind it at all; my mom used to make a Dutch-style fruitcake using glace red and green cherries when I was young so I grew up eating it.

I will share the recipe later on but this time I want to share what I made for breakfast last weekend.  This is gingerbread cinnamon buns because we're a fan of cinnamon buns.  I think these buns are perfect for the season, the smell of the spices when they're baked is absolutely delicious.  I've always made cinnamon buns the night before and let them do the second proofing in the fridge.  In the morning of, I take them out and let rest for 30 minutes before baking them.  The freshly baked buns are ready in less than 30 minutes.

Gingerbread Cinnamon Buns

Makes 9 servings


1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 recipe Spiced Glaze

In a large bowl combine the warm water and the yeast, stirring to dissolve yeast.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in the next six ingredients (through salt).  Stir in as much of the flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total).  Shape dough into a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

Punch down dough.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.  Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.  For filling, combine the next five ingredients (through cloves).

Roll dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle.  Spread dough with butter.  Sprinkle with filling, leaving 1 inch unfilled along one of the long sides.  Roll up rectangle, starting from the filled long side.  Pinch dough to seal seams.  Cut into 12 slices.  Arrange and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 45 minutes).  At this point, you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to proof for overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Drizzle with Spiced Glaze.


Spiced Glaze:  Stir together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a glaze drizzling consistency.


Source:  adapted from Fall Baking 2015, Better Homes and Gardens

Chocolate-Glazed Ginger-Pumpkin Muffins

People gets excited at the beginning of fall season, because they can now order pumpkin spice latte.  I usually don't do that on purpose; if I was in the vicinity of Starbucks and it's a convenient time for me to buy it then I'll buy it.  Most likely I'll forget to buy it when it's in season.  But don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin in baked goods.  My husband and son aren't crazy for pumpkins though, especially in form of pumpkin pie; but if I made it into muffins, pancakes, or cakes, they'll be happy to eat it.

This week I made these muffins and also pumpkin pancakes.  The muffins were all gone but I had the pancakes in the freezer for the weekend.  I didn't use canned pumpkin since I had pulp from homegrown kabocha and blue kuri that my parents grew.  I had them baked until soft so the flesh can be scraped easily.  I think steaming it works too, I've just never tried it.

These muffins are great for after school snacks or even for after dinner desserts.  I'm very fond of crystallized ginger and to add tiny morsels of those on top of the muffins is a brilliant idea.

Chocolate-Glazed Ginger-Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 16 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Chocolate Glaze--recipe below
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line sixteen muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside.  In a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.

In a small bowl stir together the pumpkin, melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Remove muffins from muffin cups; cool completely on a wire rack.

Dip the tops of the muffins into the Chocolate Glaze, allowing excess glaze to drip off.  Place dipped muffins upright on the wire rack.  Sprinkle tops of muffins with chopped crystallized ginger.  Let stand about 30 minutes or until glaze sets.


Chocolate Glaze
In a medium saucepan heat 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and, if desired, 1 tablespoon orange-flavor liqueur over medium-high heat just until boiling.  Remove from heat.  Add 6 ounces chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.  Do not stir.  Let stand for 5 minutes; stir until smooth.

To store:  Place muffins in a single layer in an airtight container.  Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.


Source:  adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Baking

Double Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

When I found a recipe that I love, I'll keep it forever.  This recipe is da bomb!  The fact that I've tried it four times and each one is exactly the same as the one before, says much of the recipe.  I first saw it in Two Peas and Their Pod and I said to myself that it looked sinfully delicious which meant I had to try it.  It's very chocolaty, moist--stays moist for days--and very, very simple to make.  I found out that the recipe came from the book Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food.  Last time when I visited San Francisco, I went to their ice cream place and tried their ice cream.  It was very good so I wasn't surprised that this chocolate cake is as good as their ice cream.

I modified the cake slightly this time by adding some mini chocolate chips to the batter to make it a double chocolate cake :)  Changing the chocolate in the glaze will change the sweet factor of the cake slightly; I've made it with bittersweet chocolate but I also tried semisweet chocolate which wasn't disappointing.  The trick is not to add anymore sugar if using semisweet chocolate.

So hurry to buy the ingredients, you wouldn't want not to make it!

Double Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Serves 10


For cake:
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (1 ounce) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup water
2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup mini chocolate chips

For glaze:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ½ Tablespoons agave nectar or corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
1 ½ Tablespoon sugar


To make the cake:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350F.  Butter and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and put over medium heat.  Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to blend.  Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended (it will be very thick).  Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk.  Add the eggs one at a time, whisking each to blend completely before adding the next.  Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack.  Let cool completely before making the glaze.


To make the glaze:
Put the chopped chocolate and agave nectar/corn syrup in a medium bowl and set aside.

Combine the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and put over the medium heat.  Stir constantly until the cream is hot and the sugar is dissolved.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.  If it's very runny, let sit for a minute or so to thicken.  Drizzle over the cake.


Source:  adapted from Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food

Orange-Glazed Salmon

Wild sockeye salmon is in season right now and I wanted to eat it before the season ended so here's what I did to the fish.  With a simple rub of Cajun and orange marmalade glaze, this is a sure winning recipe for eating simple, flavorful, and satisfying meal.  We ate it with rice pilaf, our favorite side dish to eat with fish, and steamed carrots--totally coincidental, I didn't realize it's the same color as the salmon until after!  If Seville orange marmalade is hard to find, you can substitute with regular orange marmalade, but double the amount of lime juice used.  

Orange-Glazed Salmon

Makes 4 fillets

3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (salt-free)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets (6 oz. each)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup Seville orange marmalade

1 tablespoon lime juice

Lime wedges

Combine Cajun seasoning, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.  Rub over all surfaces of fillets.

Saute fillets in oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes.  Turn and saute an additional 2-3 minutes.

Blend marmalade and lime juice; swirl in skillet until melted.  Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides.  The salmon is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork.

Serve with lime wedges.

Source:  Cuisine at Home