Chelsea Buns

I just got back from my son's science trip with his school for 8 days last week, and I'm exhausted!  Not so much physically but mentally because there's so much to think about during the trip, the safety of the kids was always the paramount.  The constant vigilance of where they were and what they're doing, and the long drives wore me out.  But it didn't mean I didn't have good time because I got the chance to visit my bestie and my alma mater.

The kids went to Catalina Island Marine Institute to study marine biology and we stopped along the way, first at San Fransisco and second at Knott's Berry Farm.  The kids bonded and the chaperones bonded as well; the women I know were really wonderful and we got to know each other more.

With that trip behind me, I can now enjoy my spring break!  So need a break from a routine even though the typical springtime weather is back, days of grey and mist.  Ah, that's Oregon...

Maybe this Chelsea buns will cheer me up?  These are tasty buns, chockfull of moist dried fruits which my husband and I love.  My son still chose cinnamon rolls over this but he still ate a handful :)

Chelsea Buns

Yields about 12 large buns or 24 small buns


For sweet bread dough:
3/4 cup (6 ounces) warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup (2 ounces) bread flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) plain yogurt--regular or Greek, can be substituted with sour cream or buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups bread flour
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

For the filling:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit

For the icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons milk


In a small bowl, combine the warm water and 2 teaspoons sugar.  Stir to dissolve.  Stir in the yeast and 1/2 cup flour.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until bubbly and active, about 10 to 15 minutes.

In a bowl of a mixer or bucket for bread machine, combine the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and yeast mixture.  Add 4 1/2 cups of flour and knead the dough--by mixer or bread machine--to make a smooth, supple, and soft dough.  Add the extra flour only if needed, 1/2 cup at a time.  If using a mixer, place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to grease all sides, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 60 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.  If using bread machine, let it rise in the machine until the end of the Dough cycle.

Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface.  Roll the dough into a 16" x 24" rectangle.

Spread the dough with the 1/3 cup melted butter.  Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle it evenly over the dough.  Scatter the mixed dried fruit over the cinnamon sugar and lightly press it down onto the dough.

Starting with a long end, roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 slices for large buns or 24 slices for small buns.  Whatever the size of buns you cut, they'll turn out delicious!

Place the buns in lightly greased baking sheets.  Cover the pan and let the buns rise until they're nearly doubled, about 45 minutes.

While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 375F.  Brush buns with egg wash and bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.  While the buns are baking, make the icing by stirring together confectioners' sugar with cream or milk.

Remove the buns from the oven.  Drizzle the icing on the buns while they are warm.

Butternut Squash Bread with Dark Chocolate and Walnuts

Last year when my parents traveled to Indonesia, I had to take care of their house and yard.  I didn't have to do much with the yard though but I had to make sure the plants were watered well and picked a few handful of produce from their vegetable garden.  One day, as I was looking out the window from their living room, I noticed there's a vine that's growing over and around the short hedges lining up the front pathway.  It seemed like a squash plant tried to grow.  My parents and I love kabocha squash very much and there was a talk in the past of planting one or two plants in the vegetable garden.  We just love the sweet and smooth texture of this squash that when it's in season, my mom would buy one or two.  She then would slice it thin, dredged it in tempura batter, and deep-fried it.  That was our afternoon snack, and between us, we could probably eat the whole squash ourselves.  My mom wouldn't choose an overly big one, but she smartly picked the small one.

That plant was growing like weed and there's also one in the backyard, but when I asked my dad about it, he said he actually didn't plant any in the front yard so that was a surprise.  As summer progressed, I watched it bore fruits; the one in the front bore green fruit and the one in the back bore bluish-colored fruit.  From the look of it, one must be blue kuri squash and the other one was kabocha squash.  When my parents came back home, we waited until the stems became corky and the shape went blocky.  My dad loves it plain, steamed, and would eat it with a spoon.  I baked my share until soft and divided the flesh into several freezer bags.  These can be frozen for 3 months.

And here's one way to use up the squash, I made a quick bread with dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and dried cranberries.  I adapted the original recipe by using all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour because that's what I had at home at the time.  This won't last long in my house, everyone would eat slice upon slice with a drink of their choice!

Butternut Squash Bread with Dark Chocolate and Walnuts

Yield 1-9x5 inch loaf


2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
7.5 ounces peeled, seeded, steamed and pureed kabocha squash
2/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purposed flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 generous teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground dried ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, plus extra for decorating top
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Heat oven to 350 F.  Coat a bread loaf pan with coconut oil or butter, or spray with vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, sugars, cooked/pureed kabocha squash flesh, and oil until smooth.  In a second bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well.  Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts, and cranberries.

Fill the prepared loaf pan about three-quarters full with batter.  Gently tap the bottom of the filled pan on the counter a few times to release air bubbles.  Sprinkle additional walnuts over loaf, using your hand to gently press them into the batter.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing into thick chunks.


Source:  adapted from Breadtopia

Orange Chiffon Cake with Marrionberry Jam

I've always loved chiffon cake but baking it perfectly isn't something that I've mastered yet.  Some days my cake will turn out right, some other days it will turn slightly dry and stuck to the pan.  When it happens, I curse myself for not making it right.  I always want to be perfect the first time around, though in the end I will realize that if it doesn't turn out right, I can always make it again another time.  It's only eggs, flour, sugar, and butter, right?

The texture of chiffon cake has to be soft with tender crumbs.  With proper folding technique, there shouldn't be any dense part at the bottom, it should be springy when done baking.  As for the embellishment, it can beautify with painted with frosting or drizzled with sumptuous glaze, or it can left bare with a side of melty jam or compote in a bowl to eat with.  I chose the latter.  And why Marionberry jam?  Because it's currently my favorite jam to eat (the original recipe includes an easy rhubarb jam). This cake is good and the flavor is right so the only complain I have is that it bakes darker than my other chiffon cake recipes.

There's always a room for improvement in making chiffon cake and I hope I'll get a chance to do it soon.

Orange Chiffon Cake with Marionberry Jam

Serves 8 to 10

Cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

6 large eggs at room temperature, separated

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Pinch of cream of tartar

Homemade Marionberry jam or store-bought jam

Preheat the oven to 375F.  In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the orange zest on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Gradually beat in the oil.  Working in batches, alternately fold in the flour mixture and the orange juice, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until very soft peaks form.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until firm, glossy peaks form.  Fold one-third of the whites into the cake batter until incorporated, then fold in the remaining whites just until blended.

Scrape the batter into a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom and lightly smooth the top.  Tap the pan once to release any air pockets.  Bake the cake in the bottom third of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.  Invert the cake pon onto a jar and let cool in the pan.

Run a thin metal knife between the cake the sides of the pan to loosen.  Invert the cake onto a cake plate and serve with the Marionberry jam.

Source:  Food and Wine, March 1998

Pretty in Pink Cake

My first attempt of making a naked cake and it turned out very, very pink!  I've always wanted to recreate this cake and this week seemed to be an appropriate week for a pink cake (*hint: Valentine's Day is this Sunday).

I've made this cake with the original fruit, which was strawberry, back when I just starting to blog.  Everything was so new and I was still in the process of learning how to bake and how to style my food so it would look good presentation wise.  In fact, I found the photo, which inspired me to make it again.  Here it is:

That photo was an embarrassment to my existence!  I don't know why I missed so many no-no's with food back then but I guess somewhere, sometime, I had to learn, right.  It was taken by a small Sony digital camera that ceased to function a few years ago, and it was my first digital camera.  Anyway, I honestly couldn't remember how the cake tasted at the time so by making it again I hope I can reacquaint my love for the cake.

It is basically a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting with the addition of strawberry preserves and decorated simply with fresh strawberries.  This time around, it is raspberry preserves with fresh raspberries and I swapped semisweet baking chocolate with a bittersweet one.  I did take out some of the sugar measurement out from the icing because I thought 2 cups was going to be too sweet for my taste.  And I was glad I did.  The raspberry preserves is a homemade one because my preserves is the best 😝.  I decorated the cake with simple decoration of frosting and fruit because I like this look the best with a naked cake.  In the end, I fell in love with the cake again!

Pretty in Pink Cake

Serves 4

Schnappy Chocolate Cake

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-ounce pieces

3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 3 teaspoons

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon Wilderberry schnapps

Pretty in Pink Icing

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-ounce pieces

6 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-ounce pieces

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

4 to 5 drops red food color

Make the cake:  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Lightly coat the insides of three 6 x 2-inch aluminum cake pans, using the melted butter.  Flour the insides of each pan with 1 teaspoon flour.  Shake out and discard the excess flour.  Set aside until needed.

Melt the chopped chocolate and the 2 ounces butter in the top half of a double boiler, or in a small glass bowl in a microwave oven and stir until smooth.

In a sifter combine the 3/4 cup flour, the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  Sift onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper and set aside.

Place the granulated sugar and the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle.  Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until the mixture is frothy and slightly thickened.  Add the chocolate and butter mixture and mix on medium to combine, about 15 seconds.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Operate the mixer on low while gradually adding the dry ingredients; mix until incorporated, about 45 seconds.  Add the schnapps and mix on low for 10 seconds.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Immediately divide the cake batter among the prepared pans (about 2/3 cup of batter in each pan) and spread evenly (the batter is very thick, so this will take a bit of spreading).

Bake on the center rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layers comes out clean, 15 to 16 minutes (do not overbake).  Remove the cake layers from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes at room temperature.  Invert the cake layers onto cake circles or cake plates, then immediately turn the cake layers side up again.  

Make the icing:  Sift the confectioners' sugar onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper.  Set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle.  Mix on low speed for 1 minutes, increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until soft.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.  Beat on medium for another 2 minutes.  Add the confectioners' sugar and mix on lowest speed to combine, about 1 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.  Now beat on medium for 10 seconds.  Transfer the butter and sugar mixture to a small bowl.

Place the cream cheese in the same bowl.  Mix on low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until soft.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.  Beat on medium for another 2 minutes until very soft.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.  Add the raspberry preserves and beat on medium for 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the butter and sugar mixture and beat on medium for 10 seconds.  Add the food color and beat for 15 seconds.

Assemble the cake:  Use a cake spatula to spread 3/4 cup of icing evenly and smoothly over the top and to the edges of the 2 cake layers.  Stack the iced layers, then top with the remaining cake layer.  Gently press the layers into place.  Spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake using a combination of spatula and bench scraper.  Wipe excess frosting back into the bowl.  The cake is essentially getting a crumb coating so it will look naked.  If you want to make dollops of frosting on top of the cake, use a 1/2" plain tip and a French tip like I did.

Refrigerate the cake before cutting and serving. 

Source:  adapted from Celebrate with Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers

Baked Eggs with Roasted Vegetable Hash

One of the protein sources we like to eat as a family is egg.  Egg is a constant our go-to choice for breakfast, it's very versatile, easy to fix, and it fills up our tummies :)  I was trying out a new recipe and this one is super easy and very satisfying.

Grated Fontina cheese is folded into the whipped eggs and then they're baked in the cast iron skillet until puffy and golden brown.  The sweet potatoes and mushrooms are baked in the oven until tender; they don't need a lot of adornment because they're inherently flavorful.  Afterwards, they're sort of thrown together in a plate, ready to be devoured.  I really like these flavors combination together, the way the earthiness of the mushrooms, the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes, and the nuttiness of the cheese comes together is very moreish .

Baked Eggs with Roasted Vegetable Hash

Serves 6

10 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces Fontina cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thinly
1 large sweet potato (8-10 ounces), peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large shallot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons olive oil


Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450F.  Butter an 8-inch cast iron skillet or  a shallow 2-quart baking dish.

Whisk together eggs, milk, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until smooth.  Whisk in cheese.  Pour into baking dish.

Bake in upper third oven until puffed, golden, and set, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and shallot with oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a large baking sheet.  Spread vegetables out in an even layer and roast in lower third of oven, stirring twice after 10 minutes, until tender and golden brown, about 18 minutes.

Serve eggs with roasted vegetables spooned on top.


Source:  adapted heavily from Gourmet Today