Sudanese Baseema

In looking for recipes from Sudan, I came across the website of Mark Tanner, a travel writer who documented quite a few recipes along the way. I found this recipe elsewhere on the internet, in sources that seem to predate him, so I'm not sure of its actual provenance.

As I mentioned in a previous post from two weeks ago, traditional Sudanese food seems split between two regions - Arabic influence and East African. This cake is very much more of the northern influence, with a cake similar to this (with slight alterations) made throughout much of the middle east.  I myself have made Egyptian Basbousa, a cake that has many similarities although uses semolina (or farina) and honey instead of this recipe's regular flour and sugar syrup.

This is an easy cake and makes a lot - the yogurt makes it tender and the syrup poured on after it bakes makes it incredibly flavorful.

Ingredients:

5 eggs
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup butter / oil
500g yogurt
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of coconut
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup water

Beat eggs and sugar.  Add oil and yogurt and mix.

In a separate bowl sift flour and add baking powder and coconut, then add to the mixture while stirring. 

Spread mixture onto greased tray (9x13 pan was perfect.)  Bake for 30 minutes 200° Celsius. (This is 400 F, which is hotter than most cakes but is correct for this one.)

In another saucepan, mix sugar and lemon with water, boil until syrup thickens. 

When cake is baked, poke holes in it pour syrup over evenly so it soaks through (while still hot.)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins (gluten-free)

This started as a paleo recipe which I have rendered not so paleo, so let's just call it gluten-free. These are delicious and could be easily adapted to have chocolate chips instead of berries. I made mine half with shredded coconut, and can recommend that ingredient too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup almond meal/almond flour
• 3 eggs, whisked
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• ½ cup frozen or fresh berries (I used blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk eggs, then add sugar and peanut butter; blend until smooth. Stir in dry ingredients, and berries last. Frozen may remain frozen!
3. Place ingredients into 8-10 silicone muffin cups in a muffin tin. Or you can use muffin tin paper liners.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. (The bigger the berries the more time they may need, but look for browning on the top of the muffin.)

Sudanese Kisra - Sorghum Crepes

Last year I tried recipes from Oceania, and this year I'm going to be lingering in Africa. This coincides with my reading projects, since I'm trying to finish reading (at least) one book from every country in Africa in 2016. This month I have been in South Sudan and Uganda. Sudanese cuisine is interesting because it shifts when you move into South Sudan, from the Arabic influenced cuisine that is most similar to Egypt to more of an East African cuisine like in Ethiopia and other neighbors. Kisra seems to be most like injera (from Ethiopia) and can simultaneously be a utensil and a bread.  It is not as pliable as injera, although I was not cooking it as thin or wide as is typically found in Sudan. You can read more about how it is traditionally prepared several places on the internet; I could only do what I could in my kitchen.

Luckily I had sorghum flour on hand from one of the gluten-free recipes I make frequently - pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which has a combination of three flours. These crepes (at least in the recipe I used) are not gluten-free, as the recipe maker thought using some all purpose flour helped them stick together better. Traditionally I believe they are made entirely of sorghum flour, but even with this adaptation, I had a hard time not having the crepes come out of the pan in pieces.

Plan ahead for this one - the batter must sit at room temperature at least 12 hours! I used the recipe from Global Table Adventure, and also made the stew she recommended alongside it, without the beef. I wish I had put another type of protein, maybe beans, because it was much thinner without the meat, and could only be eaten with a spoon.

Sudanese Kisra - Sorghum Crepes
(Recipe from Global Table Adventure, but go to that site for more information on traditional preparation; I'm distilling it to basic kitchen steps)

Makes at least 8 (depending how big you make them).

Ingredients:
2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups water, plus 1 cup, or as needed
1 cup all purpose flour
unroasted sesame see oil (I used vegetable because I could only find toasted sesame)

1. Mix the sorghum flour with 1 1/2 cups water and let sit overnight (at least 12 hours).
2. The next day stir in the  all purpose flour and last cup of water, to form a thin batter.
3. Ladle some kisra batter into a greased pan over medium heat. Immediately take a credit card or small scraper and, holding it at a 30 degree angle, spread the batter around smoothly. This can take some practice. 
4. When the edges begin to curl up like a smile, the kisra is done. This should only take a minute or so.
5. Stack them on a plate and keep warm with a towel. After they cool, they’re quite a bit more sturdy… and are less likely to break or crack.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (paleo, lower carb, gluten-free)

This is another recipe that is a slight adaptation of one I found at PaleOMG, a blog I recommend! Really this post should be a guest post because my husband made them both times we had them, because I had a knee injury that wouldn't let me stand very easily. And then this morning he made them again just because he's nice. Sorry the picture looks like a cookie but it is merely an aerial view. You can see what a great muffin texture this has despite being all the dietary restrictions that it is. This calls for chocolate chips but would also be great with berries, probably without the espresso powder.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from PaleOMG

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 3 brown bananas, mashed
• ⅓ cup sugar substitute*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup peanut butter (almond if you're really paleo)
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips

*We have made this recipe with coconut/palm sugar as well as Truvia brown sugar substitute, and both worked great!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan (we use silicone muffin cups.)
2. In a large bowl, mix together bananas, sugar substitute, vanilla extract, eggs, and peanut butter.
3. Then add coconut flour, instant coffee, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Pour mixture into 12 muffin cups and place in oven to bake for 25 minutes.
5. Let cool before removing from muffin cups.

Cardamom Crescents

This is one of the recipes I had planned to make for the holidays but I ran out of time! Despite a knee injury I was in that mood where the only thing that will help is to MAKE something, so I sucked it up and made these cookies Wednesday night. I thought they were tasty! Next time around I am not sure I'd bother with the crescent shape, however on a cookie tray it would add some variety. This is a similar recipe to "Mexican Wedding Cookies" or "Russian Teacakes" that seem to show up at tea parties and the holidays, probably because of the final stages of rolling a baked cookie in powdered sugar, which looks like snow.

I made the recipe as I found it although originally I dumped 2 cups of confectioners' sugar in with the butter. I cleaned the recipe up to add clarity to that confusion. I also had vanilla powder on hand, a gift from a co-worker who recently traveled to India, so I added 1/2 tsp of that. It looked almost like finely ground vanilla beans, and was more the color of the spices.

Cardamom Crescents
from Sweet Paul Magazine

You will need:

2 1⁄2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3⁄4  teaspoon cardamom, ground
3⁄4  teaspoon cinnamon, ground 

1/2 tsp vanilla powder (optional; I added this because I had it!)
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1  teaspoon vanilla extract
2  cups walnuts, very finely chopped (in food processor) 

For after baking:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar 

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Whisk together the first 4 ingredients.
3. Beat butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix, just until combined.
6. Add walnuts and stir until thoroughly incorporated.
7. Using 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie, shape into crescents and place on baking sheets about 2” apart.
8. Bake, in batches if needed, until lightly golden. This will take about 15 minutes.
9. Let cool for 5–10 minutes.
10. Place the remaining 2 cups confectioners’ sugar in a wide, shallow bowl.
11. When the crescents are cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in confectioners’ sugar, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Once cool, roll in confectioners’ sugar again.

 

Marionberry Pie

This is actually the pie I made for dessert on Thanksgiving, but in all my posting about Oceanic baking I somehow left it out. I have previously explained why I have marionberries in my freezer, but I was saving some for a real pie with a real crust for the holiday. I'm so glad I did!

This recipe comes from Sunset Magazine, a magazine I only recently discovered is about northwest living. I grew up with it so I just thought it was part of everybody's childhood. It was voted one of their favorite recipes of all time. I wouldn't change a thing!

Marionberry Pie
from Sunset Magazine, via Anjou Bakery

Ingredients

The crust 

 

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 2-tbsp. chunks 

 

The filling

 

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup granulated sugar

1 3/4 pounds (6 1/2 cups) fresh or frozen marionberries or other blackberries (for frozen, measure, thaw until somewhat softened, and use all juices)

Coarse white sparkling sugar

Preparation

1. Make crust: Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer. Add butter and beat with paddle attachment on low speed, scraping bowl as needed, until pieces are raisin-size. With mixer still on low speed, drizzle in 1 tbsp. ice water; beat until pastry comes together, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Form 1 1/4 cups into a disk and the rest into a smaller disk.
2. Preheat oven to 375° with rack on bottom rung. On a lightly floured board, roll larger disk into a 12-in. circle. Loosen with a long metal spatula, gently roll around a rolling pin, then unroll into a 9-in. pie pan (if dough cracks, press back together). Fold edge under, so it's flush with pan rim, then crimp. Chill 15 minutes.
3. Roll remaining dough into an 11-in. circle. With a cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes, such as squares, as needed to cover most of pie. Set cutouts on a baking sheet; chill 15 minutes.
4. Make filling: Stir together cornstarch and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add berries with juices and toss to coat. Arrange evenly in pie shell. Lightly brush pastry cutouts with water and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Arrange cutouts over filling.
5. Bake pie until filling bubbles and pastry is golden in center, 55 to 60 minutes (up to 1 1/2 hours if berries were frozen); if edge starts to get dark, cover with foil, and if pie starts to bubble over, put a rimmed pan underneath it.
6. Let cool on a rack to room temperature, at least 3 hours.

A Year of Baking in Oceania

What a year! I have had a great time trying out recipes from various countries and people groups in Oceania. This was all to accompany a year of reading books set in the same region, which you can read about over on Reading Envy (or listen to the podcast to accompany it!)

In case you missed them, here are the posts from this year of Oceania (plus a few bonus desserts from previous years.)

Anzac Biscuits (Australia and New Zealand)
Banana Fritters (The Marquesas)
Masi Popo - Coconut Shortbread (Samoa)
Pavlova (New Zealand)
Banana Pancakes (Papua New Guinea)
Rock Cakes (Australia and New Zealand)
Panipopo - Coconut Buns (Samoa)
Lamington (Australia and New Zealand)
Po'e - fruit pudding (Tahiti)
Cocoa Pavlova with Cardamom and Pomegranate Jelly (Americanized but New Zealand)
Mini cocoa pavlovas (New Zealand)
Sydney Special aka Doormat (Australia and New Zealand)
Pandan Chiffon Cake (Indonesia)
Spekkoek (Indonesia)
Maori Bread (New Zealand)

Of all of these recipes, my favorite was either the cocoa-pomegranate pavlova or the spekkoek. My co-workers gobbled up the lamingtons and anzac biscuits, while my husband liked the po'e best.

Not pictured: a complete disaster trying to use tapioca in place of sago in a recipe from Papua New Guinea.

Fried Banana Cakes from The Marquesas

This recipe comes from Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen and is a use of bananas that seems prevalent throughout the South Pacific. This particular recipe comes from The Marquesas.

Fried Banana Cakes

4 very ripe bananas, peeled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 2/3 cup flour (depending on the size and moistness of the bananas)
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated lime zest
oil for frying
Cinnamon sugar (1 tbsp sugar and a few pinches of cinnamon) for garnish

In a food processor (or you know, with a fork) pulverize the bananas with the vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the lime zest and dry ingredients to the food processor. Mix until dough is of a light texture. Rest for a few minutes, then form the dough into 15 patties. Fry cakes in 1/2-inch-deep-oil, turning to brown evenly on both sides. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and serve hot.

Panipopo - Sweet Coconut Buns from Samoa

I previously posted about masi popo, coconut shortbread from Samoa. This recipe is the other one I've been planning to make all year! This is basically just a sweet yeast bun baked in a liquid of coconut milk, water, and sugar. Kind of like buns made into bread pudding. Traditionally it is served in the evening with kokosamoa (Samoan Cocoa) so I waited until I had some before making the panipopo!

Panipopo (Sweet Coconut Buns)
Recipe from SamoaFood.com

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 -3 cups all-purpose flour

Let yeast bloom in water for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, adding the smaller amount of flour unless it needs more. Knead 10-20 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and leave to double in volume. (Optional: Punch down and leave to double in volume again.)

There are two ways to shape the buns.

1. Roll into a long rectangle, and then roll up like cinnamon rolls, then slice into 12 even sized rounds
2. Pinch off balls of dough and roll into 12 balls.

Place in 9x13 pan and let rise until almost doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 F and make coconut sauce: Mix coconut sauce ingredients together.

Pour coconut sauce over buns and bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes to ensure sauce is absorbed. Store leftovers in fridge.

Coconut Sauce

1/2 can coconut milk (full-fat)
1/2 can water
1/2 cup sugar

Wintermint Cake

My friend Kasia makes some version of a Wintermint cake all through the holiday season so I went looking for a recipe. This one was created by the guys who opened Baked in Brooklyn, although please use my recipe below as the one on the Sweet Paul Magazine website has a major error in the buttercream ingredients. I decorated mine with peppermint bark instead of crushed peppermint candies.

Wintermint Cake from BAKED in Brooklyn

Recipe from Renato Polifiato & Matt Lewis of Brooklyn's BAKED Bakery
As posted on Sweet Paul Magazine with buttercream error

Serves 12

Classic Chocolate Cake:

3⁄4 cup dark cocoa powder

1 1⁄4 cups hot water

2⁄3 cup sour cream

2 2⁄3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1⁄2 cup unflavored shortening

1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

Peppermint Buttercream:

1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1⁄3 cup heavy cream

1 1⁄2 cups unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Mint Chocolate Ganache:

6 oz dark chocolate (60–72%), chopped coarsely

1⁄2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon creme de menthe (optional)

1⁄2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1. For the Classic Chocolate Cake, preheat oven to 325° degrees.
2. Butter and flour 3 cake pans, line with parchment, and butter the parchment.
3. Mix cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream together and set aside to cool.
4. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
5. Beat butter and shortening together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
6. Add sugars beat until light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes.
7. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Then, slowly add the dry mixture and cocoa mixture to the batter, alternating the 2 kinds and ending with dry.
8. Divide batter between 3 pans and spread evenly. Bake for 35–40 minutes (rotate the pans halfway through) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then cool for 20 minutes then invert onto a rack to cool completely.
9. For the Peppermint Buttercream, In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk sugar and flour together. Then add milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. This will take about 10–15 minutes.
10. Transfer mixture to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high until cool, which will take about 7–9 minutes of mixing. Tip: Speed up the process by pressing bags of frozen berries or frozen corn against the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
11. Reduce speed to low and add butter. Mix until incorporated.
12. Increase to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, about 1–2 minutes.
13. Add vanilla and peppermint extract and continue mixing until combined. If frosting is too soft, put bowl in refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is proper consistency. If frosting is too firm, set bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.
14. For the Mint Chocolate Ganache, place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.
15. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream just to a boil.
16. Remove cream from heat and pour over bowl of chocolate.
17. Let sit for 2 minutes, then slowly stir the chocolate and cream mixture until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Then, let ganache come to room temperature.
18. To assemble the Wintermint Cake, place 1 cake layer on a serving platter.
19. Trim cake layer to create a flat surface and use offset spatula to spread about 1⁄4 cup of ganache on top only.
20. Let set for 1 minute in refrigerator.
21. Spread approximately 11⁄4 cups of buttercream on top of ganache.
22. Repeat with following 2 layers.
23. Crumb coat cake and refrigerate briefly, for around 15 minutes.
24. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining buttercream.
25. Garnish cake with optional 1⁄4 cup of crushed peppermint candies and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to firm up the entire cake.

Treats from Down Under: Lamington

When considering the final baked good from Australia and New Zealand that I planned to make in 2015 (unless I get my act together and make mud cake for New Years Eve), it had to be the lamington. I had made pavlova multiple times, tried a few childhood snacks like rock cakes and Sydney Special, but something that came up everywhere was the lamington. In my mind it sounds like lamb because it looks like lamb - cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut.

The coconut and the cake vary - Cake Spy uses the more American sweetened shredded coconut, and Dan Lepard posted a delicious looking double chocolate version for The Guardian. I went with the recipe used by The Galley Gourmet, because it seemed rather traditional but was already using American measurements. Her recipes also always look so clean and straightforward, that they always have a lot of visual appeal for me.

People seemed to LOVE this lamington, but I have to tell you that they turned out huge. I cut the cake in the recommended 2 inch by 2 inch pieces, but by the time they were covered in the thick chocolate glaze and not-so-delicately rolled in coconut, they were giant individual sized cakes. One professor said one lamington provided a generous dessert split between she and her husband. Another thing I would say is that this has got to be the messiest dessert I have ever made, and I used to work up to my elbows in cake decorating supplies. Despite the glowing reviews and delicious end result, I'm not sure I would do it again!

Lamingtons
makes 24 two-inch squares
Recipe from The Galley Gourmet, who adapted it from Martha Stewart Living

For the Cake
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans
2 2/3 cups cake flour, plus more for pans
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher slat
1 cup milk (2% or whole), at room temperature
2/3 cup raspberry jam

For the Chocolate Icing
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
2 (14-ounce) packages shredded sweetened coconut, chopped
2 ounces (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Cake
Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Butter two 9x13-inch baking pans; line the bottoms with parchment and butter.  Dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time; beating until incorporated.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans.  Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Cool slightly on wire racks.  Remove the cake from the pans and set on wire racks to cool completely.

Spread one of the cooled cakes with the jam.  Place the other cake on top. Lightly cover with plastic and freeze until firm.  (Cakes can be made and filled a day in advance).  Once frozen, use a sharp knife to cut the squares into 24 two-inch squares.  Keep the cakes chilled until ready to ice.

For the Chocolate Icing
In a medium bowl, warm the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter has melted. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Add the vanilla and espresso powder.  Using a wire whisk, gradually whisk in the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder; whisk until completely smooth.

Place the coconut in a shallow dish; set aside.  Place a cake square on the tines of a large fork and dip the bottom of the cake into the chocolate icing.  Using a large spoon or ladle, coat the the cake with the icing until all sides are covered.  Allow the excess icing to drip off.  Transfer the cake square to the coconut dish and sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the coconut, gently pressing to adhere.  Transfer the coated squares to a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to stand until the coating has set-- at least 20 minutes.  Continue with the remaining squares.  Cake can be kept in an airtight container for up to two days.  Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, April 2002

Elusive Yeti: Samoan Coconut Shortbread

When I started researching recipes from Samoa, I found recipe after recipe, savory and sweet, with coconut. Coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut meat, etc., etc.  It is no surprise that one of the recipes I came across on multiple blogs and recipe websites is this Samoan Coconut Shortbread. When you think Samoan, don't think of the Girl Scout Cookie, which is a shortbread (and coconut, no surprise) cookie that is dipped and drizzled in chocolate. They got the coconut part right but chocolate isn't as prominent. (However, you can buy King Koko Samoa, something I have yet to try, but it appears as if you brew roasted cocoa beans the way you drink coffee - ground and steeped in water. Can't wait to try it!)

I'm not a huge fan of shortbread. I'm still not convinced I do it right although people always assure me it is what they think of as shortbread. So I'm not sure I love this recipe. I do love that it's authentic and from Samoa ("Masi Popo") and I love the adorable cookie cutter my husband bought me of a sasquatch/yeti. That's what inspired me to finally make the recipe! I made a double batch of dough, which was a mistake since half of it is still in the fridge, but I made a bunch of yeti, glazed them, and sprinkled desiccated coconut on for a snowy look.

I like the double coconut, and you really taste it when you bite into the cookie. 

While this recipe is photographed many places and mentioned others, very few sites had the actual recipe. Since recipes can't be covered by copyright, I went a little deeper to find it. The Internet Archive let me down but a fun blog called The International Dinner Project still had it in their post. Check out their site; they will continue to be a resource to me as I cook and bake around the world.

Masi Popo (Coconut Shortbread from Samoa)

Ingredients

120gm butter (4½ oz)
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
200ml full coconut milk – not lite! (7 fl oz)
1 tsp vanilla essence or extract
4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Heat the over up to about 180˚C (350˚F)
2. Cream the butter and sugar together well.
3. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well.
4. Here comes the magic, add the coconut milk and vanilla, again mixing well.
5. Now mix in the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder).
6. The dough may still be a little sticky, so a little more flour may be needed.
7. Cover your kneading surface with a generous amount of flour so the dough doesn’t stick to in and knead until it’s a nice and even consistency. (At this point I chilled the dough several hours so it would be easier to roll out.)
8. I pinch of about a third of the dough and roll out onto lightly floured baking paper (so I don’t have to try to pick up each biscuit/cookie slice from the kneading surface individually)
9. Roll out the dough until it’s about ¼” (6mm) thick, and cut into 3″ (75mm) squares. I find dipping the knife in flour every so often helps to keep it from sticking to the dough.
10. Then just pick up your baking paper at the edges and place it onto your over tray and cook for about 25 minutes, or till just golden brown (a little browner than they appear in the photo above) The squares when cooled should be quite hard, not soft like biscuits, and have a nice “snap” when broken. (For what I used the cookies for, I baked them 10 minutes less, in order to have more of a soft cookie.)

Treats from Down Under: Sydney Special (aka Doormat)

I declared November to be New Zealand November. If you are interested in what I'm reading, you can check out my initial post as well as my first week update.

One of the first books I read was the first volume of an autobiography by Lauris Dorothy Edmond - Hot October. Edmond is a well-loved New Zealand poet. You can read more about her life in my book review, but the book was also useful as an insight into food of the 1930s and 1940s. I previously made and posted about rock cakes, but had a chance to make Sydney Special. The following passage comes from her childhood.

"Greenmeadows was a village, and we took part in local activities and performances without question. Our mother was a faithful member of the Women's Institute, intermittently secretary or president of the Gardening Circle and always president of the Drama Circle. They wrote away to Samuel French and Co for hired sets of plays, English drawing-room comedies mostly, and either rehearsed or performed them in the Taradale Town Hall or did readings in one another's sitting rooms.  When it was our turn there was much preparation, the making of peanut brownies, rock cakes, Sydney Special (a concoction of rolled oats, coconut, sugar, butter, also known as Doormat) and orange cake."

I looked at quite a few recipes before selecting the recipe I used. Some didn't include coconut, some didn't include oats, some didn't have cocoa powder in the lower mixture. It almost has the texture of a Rice Krispie Treat, which you then cover in chocolate. It all sounded so sweet that I elected to use dark instead of milk chocolate. This rendered everything not very sweet, but my tasters (work colleagues!) preferred it this way. I think if I made it for kids, milk chocolate would be the ticket. This recipe also has cornflakes in it, an ingredient I came across multiple times in New Zealand sweets. It must be of the same era where every housewife was discovering the usefulness of processed food!

Another reason this makes a great treat for kids is that it is easy to make, and I can see involving kids in crunching together the parts in the layer before baking, and sprinkling the chocolate chips on top, spreading them as they melt.

Sydney Special (aka "Doormat")
Recipe from Leeks and Limoni, where she also refers to it as "Chocolate Crunch Slices"

(I found equivalencies for these but didn't keep track of them. Sorry! A simple Google search can convert ingredients to American measurements. Or you may use a scale.)

 

175g butter

110g soft brown sugar

25g cornflakes

50g dessicated coconut
1 tablespoon cocoa
150g self raising flour (or AP flour + a few additions)
pinch salt
200g milk (or dark!) chocolate for the top

A baking tin, 17 x 26cm approx, greased and base lined with greaseproof paper (I used a 9x9 pan and parchment paper.)

Preheat oven to 160°C (I did 350 F.)
Melt the butter and sugar together over a low heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Pour and press evenly into the prepared tin (pan).
Bake for 20-25 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin (pan).
Melt the chocolate and pour over the top. (I let the heat of the baked part do this for me!)
When cold, cut into squares or rectangles as you prefer. (The chocolate, once firm, dictated how big the pieces would be, and I just let it break apart as it seemed to desire.)

Fluffy Paleo Pancakes (gluten-free, low-carb)

I'm back again, happily posting about another adaptation of an outstanding recipe from PaleOMG. Her original recipe includes a lemon raspberry sauce, so please visit her blog to try it out. I just wanted to try the pancakes, so made a half recipe mid-week (with 2 eggs instead of attempting 1.5), and repeated the full recipe for the two of us today. I actually liked the first attempt better texture-wise, so I have added an egg here. I ended up thinning out the second half of the batter with a little more almond milk.  (Also: 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp is just about the same as 2/3 cup, so I've altered that in the recipe I've posted as well.)

The texture for these is really great, the batter has no problem sticking together (see: almond flour pancakes!) and actually bubbles the way normal pancakes do. I will absolutely make these again.

Fluffy Paleo Pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, whisked
• 2/3 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon honey or sugar substitute
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Whisk together pancake ingredients: eggs, almond milk, honey and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. Then, while continuously whisking, add coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking powder and baking soda and a pinch of salt to the large bowl. Whisk until batter is well combined.
3. Grease a large pan and place over medium heat. Once pan is hot, use a large ladle to pour a pancakes size pancake on the pan.
4. Once pancake has cooked and bubbles begin to surface on the top of the pancake, flip it. The pancake should need to cook for 2-3 minutes each side.
5. Repeat with the rest of the pancake mixture.

Notes

Yields 4-5 four inch pancakes (I got 6 3.5-4 inch pancakes, just perfect for two people)

New Zealand Baking: Maori Bread

"They would go into Granny's kitchen where the fire was always going and where the table would be set with best cups, and glass dishes of butter and jam. The big new round of bread would be on the board wrapped in a cloth." - Potika by Patricia Grace

Bread is central to the Maori meal, and in all the New Zealand literature I've read in New Zealand November, it seems to be present at times of turmoil, stress, and sorrow. No surprise since bread seems to have that function no matter the culture!

 

Traditional Maori bread is baked in the pot it rises in, but I had to adjust a little bit. I let the dough raise in a large bowl and baked it in a springform pan to maintain the high sides it would have with the pot. I used the recipe from Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen, a cookbook from which I hope to try a few more recipes. The recipe is pretty basic and I imagine every Maori cook has their own secrets and tweaks. Some of the recipes I came across use potato either as part of the flour or as a starter, while this just uses standard yeast. Many New Zealand children eat their bread (Maori or not) with golden syrup, and I'm sure that would be great here too. I made the honey-citrus butter mentioned. To me, this bread is best toasted.

Maori Bread

1 tbsp yeast

11/2 cups warm water

1 cup sugar

4 cups flour

honey-citrus butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and sugar. Add flour, all 4 cups at once. Mix, then knead dough until elastic.

Grease a deep pot. Place dough in pot. Cover with a lid, and let rise for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

After dough has risen sufficiently, place in oven (with lid on, I used foil) and bake for 45 minutes.

Open oven, remove lid (or foil), and let bread brown for the last 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and take out of the pan.

Wrap loaf in dampened cheesecloth to keep the crust moist. Serve hot with honey-citrus butter.

Honey-Citrus Butter

Jenny's note: I didn't eat it as pictured. It is very strongly flavored and is best only lightly spread on the warm or toasted bread.

1 cup fresh orange juice

4 tbsp honey

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp minced orange rind

salt to taste

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the orange juice to a boil. Reduce to the consistency of honey. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, blend the orange syrup, honey, butter, orange rind, and salt until smooth, Place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper on a work surface. Pour the butter onto a long side and form into a roll or log about 1 inch in diameter, leaving a 1-inch border of paper. Roll the butter in the paper, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze

My co-workers are frequent tasters of my baked goods, but this past week I had an experience that surprised me. I had been wanting to try making pumpkin scones with cinnamon chips; I love pumpkin and chocolate together but I had this idea that cinnamon would be even better. Since my dogs get me up super early, I always have a few hours before the library opens, so Friday morning I made these scones. I brought them to the meeting my group has every Friday at 9:30, and then left the rest in the library break room. By 11:15, they were completely gone. One person rolled her eyes back in her head as I walked by her desk, and another said she doubted I could ever top this recipe. In fact she had "been good" and only taken part of one, and when she went back for another taste there was only a partial one left.

So I had to share it with you without waiting until my usual Monday posting date, in case you were going to have house guests for Thanksgiving and you wanted an idea of a simple but stunning breakfast item. I used a recipe from Joy the Baker that she adapted from Alice's Tea Cup in Manhattan (the only cookbook that has ever made me cry), but instead of pecans I used cinnamon chips. And holy goodness, the browned butter glaze really does take it over the top, balancing the sweetness a little bit. This recipe makes a lot, double the amount I usually make when I make scones. But I was feeding a crowd. If you aren't, you might want to cut it in half.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze

makes about 16 scones

3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

For the Glaze:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices.  Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and toss to coat.  Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, break the butter down into the dry ingredients.  Work quickly so that the butter remains cold. Some of the butter will be the size of oat flakes, others will be the size of small peas. Mix the cinnamon chips to the crumbles.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients.  Stir together until almost thoroughly combined.  Stir until no dry flour bits remain.

Divide dough into two and shape each half into a flat circle, which you can cut into 8 triangular scones. Spread out around cookie sheet.  Leave about 2-inches of space between each scone (I ended up wishing I had used two sheets.)

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until browned slightly with dry tops.  You can insert a toothpick into the center of a scone to test for doneness.

Allow to cool completely before glazing. (I glazed as soon as the glaze was done.)

To make the glaze, in a small saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat.  The butter will begin to crackle and pop.  After the crackling subsides a bit, the butter will begin to brown.  Continue to cook until the butter smells nutty and the butter solids begin to brown.  Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, browned butter, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk.  Whisk together and add more milk as necessary until your desired consistency is reached.
Generously drizzle scones with glaze.  These scones are best served within 2 days of of baking. As if they could last that long.

Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake

I was poking around for recipes to make for an after-work fall gathering, and still had a few Mutsu apples left to use. I came across the Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which I had pinned a few years back but never tried. It looked perfect, like a snacking cake, didn't need to feed a lot, and pretty simple to put together.  After reading her notes on it, I decided to use all molasses instead of half molasses and half honey. My conclusion: this is okay. I didn't think the upside down sugar mixture was successful; if I made this again I'd make an actual caramel in a saucepan or maybe make this in a skillet. I also think that Deb (from Smitten Kitchen) has a more delicious gingerbread recipe that I've made for several Christmases, one that I'm not sure can be beat - the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread. I wonder if I could pour a half recipe of that batter over the apples and use the concept of this recipe! Something to file away for next time! I still wanted to post this recipe, because it is decent, I just felt like I would make a few changes to make it even more delicious the next time.

Gingerbread Apple Upside-Down Cake
Adapted by Deb at Smitten Kitchen from Karen Bates at the Philo Apple Farm via the New York Times
Serves 12

Topping
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges*

Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Very softly whipped cream

Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes, then swirl in salt. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of your cake pan. Make circles of overlapping apple slices on top of the caramel. Chop any remaining slices and place them in the gaps.

Make the batter: Using a mixer, blend 1/2 cup butter and the sugar on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to high and cream until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Alternate mixing the flour and molasses mixtures into the butter mixture, adding the next once the last has been incorporated.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at least 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a platter (one that will catch spills.)

Serve warm or cool with very softly whipped cream.

*I used 2.5 Mutsu apples since they are rather large, and that was too much!

Anzac Biscuits

This recipe has some interesting ties to several projects of mine. First of all, I made these cookies (biscuits) for my self-declared New Zealand November. ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and these are cookies that traveled well and lasted, a standard recipe for the wives and daughters back home to send to their soldiers on the front during World War I. Second of all, the primary battle commemorated by Anzac Day was the battle for Constantinople, a turning point in Turkish military history as well, and a significant moment leading to their own independence. (Cross-reference 2013, where I did a lot of Turkish baking!)

I am not sure what I expected, but I thought these would be more historical than tasty. I was wrong! The golden syrup (which I just happened to have in the pantry; it's a key ingredient in sticky toffee pudding and treacle tart) adds a delicious dark caramel flavor. The cookies can be enjoyed as is, where they are somehow both crunchy and chewy, or my favorite way - dipped in milk.

Anzac Biscuits

(recipes comes from Martha Stewart, but retains the original formula of 2+2+2+2. If you use a recipe that calls for eggs, corn syrup, or nuts, that is not an Anzac biscuit!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, and coconut. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with syrup. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, and add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. (Be careful; if the butter is hot, it will bubble up considerably.)
3. Add butter mixture to dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (be sure to pack the scoop tightly so the mixture doesn't crumble). Flatten cookies slightly with the heel of your hand.
4. Bake until golden brown and firm but not hard, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Rock Cakes

I declared November to be New Zealand November. If you are interested in what I'm reading, you can check out my initial post as well as my first week update.

One of the first books I read was the first volume of an autobiography by Lauris Dorothy Edmond - Hot October. Edmond is a well-loved New Zealand poet. You can read more about her life in my book review, but the book was also useful as an insight into food of the 1930s and 1940s. The following passage comes from her childhood.

"Greenmeadows was a village, and we took part in local activities and performances without question. Our mother was a faithful member of the Women's Institute, intermittently secretary or president of the Gardening Circle and always president of the Drama Circle. They wrote away to Samuel French and Co for hired sets of plays, English drawing-room comedies mostly, and either rehearsed or performed them in the Taradale Town Hall or did readings in one another's sitting rooms.  When it was our turn there was much preparation, the making of peanut brownies, rock cakes, Sydney Special (a concoction of rolled oats, coconut, sugar, butter, also known as Doormat) and orange cake."

Doormat! Well I did find a recipe for Sydney Special but that will be a post for another day. I decided to make rock cakes one morning when I had a few hours before work. Rock cakes are very similar to scones but include eggs, which a traditional scone would not do. You can find them all over the British empire so while I found some New Zealand recipes, I ended up making a version of an Caribbean one. I liked the use of sultanas and coconut in this one, which was pretty standard for the recipes I found from NZ too. Despite its British empire, NZ is located in a place with easy access to coconut! Even in Edmond's childhood, that would not have been a surprising ingredient.

Coconut and Sultana Rock Cakes

(adapted from recipe for Coconut Rock Buns by Immaculate Bites, an Afro-Caribbean cooking blog, which she adapted from Trini Gourmet.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1-2 teaspoon grated orange (I didn't have this so added a bit of cinnamon)
• ½ cup butter diced (I forgot this and added buttermilk to the eggs)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ cup raisins (I used golden since that is what I had on hand)
• ½ cup coconut flakes (I used the larger unsweetened variety but anything would work!)
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, grated orange, nutmeg and salt.
3. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. Stir in the raisins and coconut flakes
4. Whisk together eggs and vanilla
5. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.
6. For true rock cakes, drop portions of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making 8-10. The crags and uneven bits will look more like rocks.
7.  Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. (This step of the recipe mystifies me. Is it wrong? Do we actually preheat to 400? I am not sure what I did at the end but 425 isn't too hot for this kind of baked good.)
8. Remove, let  cool and serve.

Pumpkin Cobbler

Tired of pumpkin pie? Pumpkin cobbler is a nice change from the ordinary and comes together fast. Thanks to my friend Kasia (from Kasia's Kitchen) for pointing me in the direction of this recipe. She says it is now her go-to fall dessert to bring to parties. It isn't as custardy as pumpkin pie, because the pumpkin mixture has flour in it. Personally, I preferred it because it was easier to tell when it was done. I think it is best served warm but can be baked ahead and warmed up.

This version is an adaptation to best fit a 9x13 pan, but really it is just 1.5x the original recipe, so full credit goes to the original author at Taste and Tell.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Custard

• 1 1/2 cans (22.5 oz) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour (exactly 1.5x a recipe would be 1/2 cup but I found it a bit too stiff)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 10.5 teaspoons sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 tsp teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and eggs in a bowl. Add in both sugars, the flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, 7.5 teaspoons of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter, and with a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until it resembles crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk and stir just until the mixture comes together. (If the mixture is still dry and doesn’t come together, add in more buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time.) Do not over stir.
4. Drop the topping mixture in dollops over the custard. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
5. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 45-50 minutes.