A day off from golf usually means a day on in Dede’s bakery.
I found this recipe from Natashas Kitchen on YouTube. Considering they are not fried (a good thing) they are light, airy and delicious. (An even better thing.) I did cheat and bought some seedless raspberry jam to fill the donuts rather than making my own. (Raspberries are very expensive this time of year.)
I followed the method as written below but was slightly disappointed with re-rolling the scraps to make the additional 4 donuts. The dough didn’t come together all that well. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Baked Jelly Donut Holes
INGREDIENTS • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting • ¼ cup granulated sugar • ¼ tsp salt • 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast, quick acting, (1 packet = 7 grams) • ⅔ cup warm milk, 110˚F – microwave 35 sec. • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided 3::1 • 2 egg yolks • ½ tsp vanilla extract • ⅓ cup jelly or jam, (no large fruit pieces) • ⅓ cup granulated sugar to roll donuts
METHOD
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast and ¼ tsp salt.
Add warm milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks and ½ tsp vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously to combine well.
Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 10 minutes, until some bubbles form on the surface.
Add remaining 1 ½ cups flour, adding just enough until dough holds together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (Add the last 2 Tbsp of flour only if needed) and knead in the bowl 5 minutes. If dough is really sticking to your hands, dust lightly with flour then continue kneading with clean dry hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 45 min or at room temperature for 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out to just under ½” thick. Cut circles using a 2 ½ inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps if needed to make 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 20 min or at room temperature 45 min, or until puffed.
While the donuts are rising, preheat oven to 375˚F with rack in the center of the oven.
Bake uncovered in the center of a preheated oven at 375˚F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
Right out of the oven, brush each hot bun, one at a time, all over with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and roll in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat all over.
After all the donuts are sugar coated, cut a deep slit in the side of each donut and pipe jam with a pastry bag into each one.
One of my neighbors gave me some of their mandarin oranges and to thank them I “processed” the fruit and re-gifted it to them. I love the orange/chocolate tarts I made a few times, but have yet to perfect them. I changed the recipe and method this time, remembering Einstein’s quote: (reported and most likely never said,) “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results“
I used a recipe and method (by Philippine pastry chef, Hanbit Cho. My first attempt used standard tart rings resulted in useable but not “excellent” tart shells. The edges are ragged and some of them broke.
(I ordered and received some perforated tart rings and am waiting for the accompanying perforated baking mat to arrive, then will try again. If at first…)
I also changed my previous recipe to use creme patisserie and chocolate ganache which don’t require baking. I used my standard creampat recipe (ala Martha Stewart) and a chocolate ganache and orange glaze from Preppy Kitchen.
Baked Tart ShellsCandied Orange SlicesCreamPat Filled ShellsChocolate Ganache with Orange Creme spiralFinished TartsFinished Tart
Chocolate Orange Tart with Crème Patisserie – REVISED
Yield: Five 4” tarts. INGREDIENTS Tart Shell • 100g unsalted room temperature butter • Salt a pinch • 72g powdered sugar • 20g almond flour • 30g corn starch • 36g (~1) room temperature egg • 170g cake flour Chocolate Ganache • ½ cup heavy cream (120ml) • 180g (1 c) semi-sweet chocolate chopped Orange Glaze • 1 cup powdered sugar • 3 Tbl orange juice • 1 tsp orange zest Crème Patisserie • 1¾ cups 2% milk + ¼ cup heavy cream • 80g (~4) egg yolks • ½ cup sugar • ¼ c corn starch • Pinch salt • 2 Tbl butter • 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp vanilla
METHOD Tart Shell
Beat the butter lightly (add in salt).
Sift in powdered sugar, almond flour and corn starch. Beat lightly.
Add the eggs gradually and mix.
Finally, add in the cake flour and mix well.
Roll it out to 2mm/3mm thickness between parchment papers. (2mm thickness for 3-4” diameter, 3mm thickness for 7-9” diameter.
Rest in the fridge for 1~2hrs.
For regular tart pan: Cut chilled dough into disc ~2” larger diameter than tart ring
For perforated tart ring: Cut discs the size of the tart ring
For regular tart pan: Butter inside of ring and gently fit the dough inside the ring, leaving enough to line the edges. Be gentle to not tear the dough. Prick the bottom. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the dough and and fill with pie weights.
For perforated tart ring: Butter inside of ring and set over one of the cut-to-size discs. Cut strips of dough 1” wide and cut ~15” long. Line the ring with the long strips cementing and connections by warming gently with a finger. Place it on a perforated mat.
For either type of tart ring chill the formed rings in the fridge for an hour before baking, then put them directly in the pre-heated oven.
For regular tart pan: Bake at 350F for 10mins, take the pie weights out, then bake for another 5 mins. (325Ffor 2mm thick)
For perforated tart ring: Bake at 350 F for 15mins. (325 Ffor 2mm thick)
Chocolate Ganache
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until very steamy and just about to boil. (You can also heat it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until very hot but not boiling.)
Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large measuring cup.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt from the heat of the cream.
Stir the chocolate and cream together until fully combined, smooth, and glossy. If there are a few pieces of chocolate left unmelted, you can microwave the ganache at 50% power for about 10 seconds and mix again.
Orange Glaze
Place confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoon orange juice and 1 teaspoon orange zest.
Whisk or beat until smooth, adding more juice as necessary. Reserve remaining zest and juice for another use. The glaze should be pipeable but should not flow from the piping tip. Crème Patisserie
Whisk eggs and milk together and add to all other ingredients (except vanilla) to a medium saucepan. Bring to boil whisking constantly. Cook until thickened (it will look lumpy, its ok)
Sieve lumpy mixture into a bowl and add vanilla, mix thoroughly
When incorporated, cover with plastic directly on the crème patisserie and cool about an hour. (Alternatively, slide the piping tip you would use to fill the pâte à choux into the piping bag but don’t cut off the tip. Spoon the hot batter directly into the piping bag with sealed end. When the crème patisserie is cool, cut the tip off, force the bag around the piping tip and squeeze the crème pat to fill the end )
ASSEMBLY
Pipe a ¼” layer of crème patisserie layer into each tart shell and smooth while the crème patisserie is still warm. Let set before proceeding.
Pipe a ¼” layer of warm chocolate ganache on the crème patisserie layer
Pipe a spiral ⅛” wide circles of orange cream and feather the orange cream with a toothpick
Chill to set
Candied Orange Slices
Add the sugar and water to a 12-inch skillet or a large saucepan and set it over medium-high heat. Bring the water to a boil, stirring from time to time. As the water heats, the sugar will melt into the water. It’s important that the sugar be completely melted before adding the orange slices.
After boiling the water, reduce the heat to medium and add the orange slices. Don’t overcrowd the pan; the orange slices should fit in the pan with little overlap.
Let the orange slices cook at a gentle simmer for about ~60 minutes, until the white part of the peel (the pith) is nearly translucent. Use tongs to turn them over in the syrup every now and then.
Use tongs to remove the slices from the sugar syrup, laying them out in one layer on a wire rack.
Spread the slices on a parchment paper lined baking pan and bake for 1-2 hours at 170F
When “dry” they will be tacky but also feel set – kind of like gummy candy. Coat with caster sugar if desired.
Last month I made an amazing, flaky, delicious pie crust with PreppyKitchen’s recipe. QC and I then made the best chicken pot pie ever!
We are making an apple pie for Thanksgiving and wanted to try the crust again. Not everything went as smoothly as the first try. (I believe when mixing the dough in the food processor I did not add enough water.) The dough held together when testing it, but just barely. When I tried to form a cohesive ball on the counter it wouldn’t come together, I should have popped it back into the food processor and added another tablespoon or two, but like a golf shot where I notice the club face isn’t aligned correctly, I assume I can fix it on the downswing.
I also had issues making an aluminum foil pie ring. I cut three pieces of foil 3” wide and folded them around the edge of the pie crust. They wouldn’t stay on and I had to adjust them several times. Since then I saw how to cut a single large hole one piece of foil, to cover the edge and leave the center open.Next time.
After freezing the dough I wet my hands and gently kneaded the dough as little as possible to have it come together so I could roll it out. It worked, but I probably lost some of the flakiness.
(This pie is for internal consumption and review by the QC Cadre, not for Thanksgiving dinner. I can take the well deserved criticism.)
I used apple pie filling that I made and froze after visiting Apple Hill in September. I froze it in a plastic film lined pie plate so it would perfectly fit into the par-baked pie shell. Apparently, I used a different pie-plate today. The resultant pie looked good. I guess I fixed in on my downswing.
The pie was baked at 425F for 30 minutes. The edges were covered and the pie was baked an additional 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reached 195F.
Pie Crust – PreppyKitchen
INGREDIENTS • 360g (3 c) all-purpose flour • 1 Tbl sugar • 1 tsp salt • 227g (1 c) cold unsalted butter cut into cubes • 4 to 6 Tbl ice water
METHOD
In the work bowl of a food processor, combine 1½ cups of flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
Add half of the butter. Process until very crumbly and starting to ball up, about 30 seconds. Scatter in the remaining butter and the remaining 1½ cups of flour. Pulse 2 times just to distribute.
Drizzle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. Pulse a few times. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed, and pulse once or twice after each addition. The mixture should easily stick together when squeezed, but not feel wet or dry.
Transfer the dough onto the counter and form it into a ball. Cut the ball in half and press each half into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Don’t worry if the dough seems `dry. The flour will hydrate as it rests in the fridge.) The disks can also be frozen for a few months and thawed in the fridge overnight before using.
To Blind or Par-Bake:
If required, prepare the crust as directed in the recipe until it’s ready to use.
Roll the pie crust into a 14-inch circle and line a pie-pan with the dough. Fold the ends under and crimp the edges as desired. Poke the bottom all over with the tines of a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the bottom third and preheat the oven to 425⁰F.
Once the oven is hot, remove the pie from the freezer and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Line with a square of parchment paper. (I find it useful to crumple the parchment paper then smooth out. Repeating the crumple/smooth helps make the parchment paper more pliable.) Add enough dried beans or pie weights to fill the center.
Bake for 20 minutes. Peek under the parchment by carefully lifting an edge. If the bottom of the crust is pooled with melted butter, cook for another 5 minutes. (It should still appear wet and underbaked.)
Remove the pie crust from the oven. Carefully lift out the parchment paper and weights and set them aside to cool. At this point, your pie crust is par-baked and could be used in recipes that call for partially baking the crust before filling. (If a shiny crust is desired, you can brush the crust all over with egg wash.)
To Blind Bake:
Return the crust to the oven and continue baking until the bottom appears dry and begins to brown, about 10 more minutes.
Let the pie crust cool completely before filling.
Freezing Apples for Apple Pie
INGREDIENTS
• 5 cups Apples peeled & sliced apples (amount may vary) • 1 quart Water to prevent browning apples • 2 teaspoon salt to prevent browning apples • ½ cup Sugar for pie filling • ½ teaspoon Cinnamon for pie filling • 3 Tablespoons flour for pie filling • 1 pinch salt for pie filling
METHOD
Freezing Apples for Pie Filling
Peel, core and slice apples into a salt water soak. About 2 teaspoon salt dissolved in 1 quart water. This will prevent browning apples.
When all apples are sliced let them soak about 5 minutes and drain well.
Place apples in your pie plate to be sure you have the right amount. Pack them in and mound them up. I like lots of apples in my apple pie!
Remove these apples to a bowl, add sugar cinnamon mixture and mix to coat. ½ cup sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon, 3 Tbsp flour, Dash of salt
Lay an oversized piece of foil or plastic wrap in your pie plate. You want enough to wrap around all of the apple filling.
Put the apples back into your lined pie plate. Include all the sugar mixture. Wrap the foil sides up and around the pie filling. If needed add another layer of foil or plastic wrap to be sure it is all covered.
Place the pie plate and contents in the freezer and allow to freeze.
When it is frozen take the wrapped pie filling out of the pie plate and place in freezer bag or wrap in freezer paper.
Remove air, seal, and label. Put back in the freezer for later baking.
QC’s Mah Jongg group played at our house and you know what that means… an excuse to bake! This time I made an 8” key lime tart with raspberry coulis and Italian meringue.
(After I piped the meringue I realized I made an octopus-tart.)
Gluten Free Key Lime Tart Using Kim’s Bread Flour
Yield: 12 – 2 ½“ tartlet shells or1 8” tart shell
INGREDIENTS SHELL • 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes • 60 g icing sugar • 200 g Kim’s Bread flour • ½ tsp vanilla • ¼ tsp salt • 2 eggs – 1 for the dough and the other 1 reserved for an egg wash
FILLING • zest (grated rind) of 1 lime • 4 large egg yolks • 14-ounce can (397g) sweetened condensed milk, (1 1/4 cups) • 3/4 cup (170g) Key lime juice • Juice of 1 lime METHOD SHELL
Mix butter with sugar until well incorporated 3-5 min
Add salt then vanilla.
Add egg and mix 3-5 min
Stir in flour. Mix by hand until incorporated and forms a thick smooth(ish) sticky dough
Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 min.
Butter or lightly spray tartlet pans or use non-stick pans.
Roll dough between parchment paper to about ⅛” thick
Refrigerate rolled dough still between parchment paper until firm: 20 – 30 minutes
Remove from fridge and while still firm, cut dough to rounds about 1” larger diameter than the mold. 2 ½” tart mold requires a 3” cutter. Cut all the rounds at once while still firm. If necessary, return to the fridge to firm up. Again, if necessary, use an offset spatula to remove the circles from the parchment paper. Keep the spatula clean.
Lay tart dough circles over molds. This allows the dough to thaw slightly, then gently press into the molds and fill all crevices.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Return to fridge for 15 – 20 min to firm up the shell
Prick holes in bottom of formed dough
Place a mini cupcake paper in each tart and fill with with pastry weights (or beans)
Paint edges of the tartlet with an egg-white wash. (Whisk one egg white with 1 Tbl water)
Bake in preheated oven 350 deg F (175 C) for 12 min until edges are dry
Remove pastry weights and bake an additional 6-10 minutes to dry the bottoms. Bake until the edges begin to turn light brown and the bottom is nearly dry.
Immediately remove from pans and cool on a wire rack
FILLING
Whisk the lime zest and egg yolks at high speed of an electric mixer for about 4 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color and thicken somewhat, appearing similar to Hollandaise sauce.
Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, mixing until smooth. Beat at high speed for 3 minutes; the filling will become slightly thicker and gain a bit of volume.
Add the key lime juice, stirring just to combine. The mixture will thicken again. Add lime oil to taste.
PIPE the filling into the crust and return the tart (on the baking sheet) to the oven. Bake the tart for 12 to 18 minutes, until it appears set around the edges though still a bit wobbly in the center. The center should read about 145°F on a digital thermometer.
Remove the tart from the oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Once chilled, serve the key lime pies cold with whipped cream, or merengue and a lime slice or zest, if desired.
Store leftover pies in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 1 week. If they last that long!
ITALIAN MERINGUE (NOTE: Alternatively use whipped cream)
INGREDIENTS • 80g (or 0.4 cup or 6.5 Tbl) granulated sugar • 30ml (or 1/8 cup) water • 60g (or ¼ cup) egg whites (about 2 large egg whites) • 20 g icing sugar
METHOD
Whisk the egg whites into a light and fluffy foam, using an electric (stand) mixer.
Add the icing sugar and continue whipping until you’ve got a glossy stable foam. It should stay in place if you turn the bowl upside down. Set aside.
Add the granulated sugar and water to a pan and bring to a boil. Once all the sugar has dissolved, refrain from stirring. Continue boiling at moderate/high heat while continuously keeping an eye on the temperature.
Once the solution has reached 121°C (250°F), take it from the heat immediately*.
While SLOWLY whisking the egg whites, gently, slowly, pour the hot sugar solution into the whipped egg whites (this is where the stand mixer comes in handy!).
Once all the sugar syrup is in, turn up the speed to high and continue whisking until the foam is lukewarm.
Use the meringue immediately to top whatever it is you want to cover.
Kim’s Gluten Free Bread Flour Blend
Yield: 700g (5 c) INGREDIENTS
285g Bob’s Red Mill potato starch
250g superfine white rice flour (DON’T use regular rice flour, ie Bob’s Red Mill)
75g Tapioca flour
75g Whey protein isolate or egg white protein.
15g Xanthan gum
METHOD
Weigh all ingredients and add to a stand mixer bowl
It’s a dangerous thing taking a day off from golf. I wanted to make more berry drop scones for a couple of weeks, but never seemed to find the time, until today when there was no golf on my schedule..
We also had no snacks for after dinner so I decided to make Millionaires Shortbread Cookies this afternoon to be ready for dessert. It’s good to have a plan and to execute it properly.
For months I ignored a single sheet of puff pastry in the fridge. Today, after making two apple pie fillings I had apples remaining…
What could I do?
Pretty simple pastry to make. The directions from ACozyKitchen were spot on. (I used Trader Joe’s puff pastry for this, but plan on making my own later this week, time permitting.)
Apple Cheese Danish
INGREDIENTS For the Filling: • 4 oz cream cheese room temperature • 2 Tbl ricotta or mascarpone cheese • 1 lemon zest and juice, divided • Pinch kosher salt • 5 Tbl white granulated sugar divided • 2 apples (such as Honey crisp, Braeburn or Gala) • ½ tsp ground cinnamon For the Assembly and Icing: • 1 box puff pastry • ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted • 1 tablespoon whole milk
METHOD To Make the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 400⁰ F.
In a medium bowl, place the cream cheese, ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and mix until smooth, using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set aside.
Peel and slice your apples into 1/4-inch slices. In a small bowl toss them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of juice from the one lemon, sugar, and cinnamon. To Assemble the Cheese Danish:
Carefully unfold 1 sheet of defrosted puff pastry and roll slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s about 1/4-inch in thickness. I trimmed mine so it was a 11″ x 8″ rectangle. Transfer the sheet of puff pastry to a piece of parchment that’s on a baking sheet.
At an angle, slice off the top corners and cut two notches in the bottom. Slice 1-inch strips diagonally down both sides of the puff pastry, leaving the center uncut. Try to cut the same number of strips on both sides. I had about 8 strips per side.
Add three tablespoons of cream cheese filling, spreading it evenly down the center of the puff pastry. Top with apple slices.
Fold in the bottom and top flaps. Braid the puff pastry, by folding the strips over the filing, alternating sides, until you’ve worked your way down the puff pastry. Using your knife, trim off any leftover strips or extra dough.
Transfer the danish to the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
Brush with egg wash liberally.
Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.
I am often asked “Why don’t you open a bake shop?” (Then it wouldn’t be a hobby.) Or, “Why don’t you enter a baking contest? (Because if I don’t have a recipe in front of me, I am useless.)
I have followed Sally’s Baking Addiction for quite a while. She is one of the several that I refer to when I need advice or another opinion (not that anyone knows they are doing this for me.) For nebulous reasons I entered Sally’s monthly challenge this week. First, she provides the recipe, second I can bake in my own kitchen at my own pace
Also, I like baked, cake donuts and these are good ones. There are a lot of ingredients, but nothing too challenging. The method does not have a lot steps and the donuts come together quickly. The instructions were spot on and the results excellent.
Crumb Cake Donuts
INGREDIENTS Crumb Topping • 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar • 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon • 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted • 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (140g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Donuts • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled) • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg • 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled • 2 large eggs, at room temperature • 2/3 cup (135g) packed light brown sugar • 1/2 cup (120ml) milk, at room temperature • 1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • confectioners’ sugar for dusting
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter using a fork, then add the flour. Mix and crumble with a fork. Set aside.
Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix. The batter will be very thick.
Pipe the batter into the donut cavities filling about halfway. Grab a handful of crumb-topping and press down onto the batter of each donut. Pressing it snug into the batter helps prevent the crumb coating from falling off the donuts. (If you only have 1 donut pan, keep the remaining batter in the bowl at room temperature until you can bake the next batch.)
Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Allow to cool for about two minutes then transfer to a wire rack set on a large piece of parchment paper. Bake the remaining donut batter and once baked, transfer to the wire rack. Dust the tops of each with a light coating of confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Freezing Instructions: Freeze the baked and cooled donuts for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking in the microwave.
I had a couple of cups of blueberries in the fridge that were complaining about being ignored, so I made them into drop scones for breakfast yesterday. Actually, I froze half of them so they will continue to be enjoyed for a while. They thaw on the counter and are as fresh as new.
Berry Drop Scones
INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup (67g) sugar
Zest of 1 small lemon (or orange or lime)
½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
150-175g berries. Use any berries that you like.
1 cup heavy cream + extra if required
Coarse or turbinado sugar for topping
METHOD
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and zest. Pulse a few times to incorporate.
Add the cubed butter and pulse to incorporate. The mixture should resemble very coarse sand.
Empty the flour mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the cream and stir until just barely incorporated. Add additional cream by the tablespoon to help the dough come together
Gently fold in the berries. (It’s fine if the raspberries or blackberries break up a little – it adds a nice pink stain to the dough.) The dough should just be moist, not wet, but also not crumbly or powdery looking. If it looks too dry, add a tablespoon of cold water.
Spoon the dough into 12 equally sized pieces on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some coarse or turbinado sugar over the top, if desired.
Bake for 16-19 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The scones should be lightly golden and cooked through. I rotate the pan after 10 minutes
Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack
I saw this recipe on Facebook and decided to make it for QC’s Mah Jongg group. I made a number of changes from the published recipe and they are incorporated below.
Next time I’ll punch the flavors up as mango is not a strong flavor and can be overpowered by the strawberry. The tequila didn’t add much either, so maybe a little lime in the cupcake batter would add some punch. (No coconut, so it cannot be “Put the lime in the coconut.”
The were pretty and were well received by the group. I always make a gluten free selection so added some crème patisserie/chocolate ganache topped with chopped pistachio nuts, and had some eclair shells in the freezer that I needed to use up and had the crème patisserie and chocolate ganache anyway and finally, plums from our tree as the season is now over.
Strawberry Mango Margarita Cupcakes
Makes 48 mini-cupcakes
INGREDIENTS : Cupcakes: • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour • 1 1/4 cups caster sugar • 3 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp fine salt • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened • 2 large eggs • 1 1/2 cups full cream milk • 1/2 cup vegetable oil • 2 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream • 1 tsp vanilla extract • Pink and red food gel (for strawberry color) • 2-3 tsp strawberry freeze-dried powder • Yellow food gel (for mango color) • 2-3 tsp mango freeze-dried powder • 8-10 tsp tequila (optional) Frosting: • 1 batch American or Swiss Meringue Buttercream • Food gels: Pink and red for strawberry; yellow for mango • Flavorings: Strawberry and mango freeze-dried powder Decorations: • 1 cup granulated sugar • 10 limes, cut into 40 wedges • 10 strawberries, halved
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C) for fan-forced or 320°F (160°C) for conventional.
Line two mini cupcake tins with liners and spray with bakers spray.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add butter and mix until crumbly.
In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil, yogurt, tequila, and vanilla; mix well.
Fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until well combined.
Divide the batter into two portions.
Separately, by hand, mix each freeze-dried powder with 3-4 teaspoons of tequila
Add pink and red food gels and strawberry flavoring to one portion. Mix by hand.
Add yellow food gel and mango flavoring to the other portion. Mix by hand.
Pipe alternating layers of strawberry and mango batter into the liners.
Bake for 10–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
Prepare the buttercream frosting, dividing it into two portions.
Add pink and red food gels and strawberry flavoring to one portion.
Add yellow food gel and mango flavoring to the other portion.
Dip the rims of the cooled cupcakes in water, then roll in granulated sugar to mimic a margarita glass.
Pipe frosting in swirls on each cupcake, alternating between strawberry and mango flavors.
Decorate each cupcake with a lime wedge and a strawberry half.
We are going to a friends birthday luncheon today and QC and I thought a nice summery berry tart would be a nice dessert on a warm sunny day.
There were choices and challenges to this bake. The choice was, should I make a Berry Chantilly Cake or this tart. The tart won, but don’t feel bad, summer is a long time.
The challenge is our refrigerator died yesterday so we spent the afternoon buying and installing and transferring out food to a small refrigerator. While it is a bit inconvenient it’s only for a couple of weeks, and I only have one more required bake. (Note: required.)
I had some left over strawberries so dipped some in chocolate to add around the tart.
INGREDIENTS Shell • 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes • 60 g icing sugar • 200 g Kim’s Bread flour • ½ tsp vanilla • ¼ tsp salt • 2 eggs – 1 for the dough and the other 1 reserved for an egg wash Filling: • 1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips, melted and cooled • ¼ c heavy cream • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened Topping: • 2 c fresh strawberries, sliced • 1 c fresh blueberries • 1 c fresh raspberries Glaze: • 1 c water • ½ c white sugar • 2 Tbl cornstarch • 2 Tbl corn syrup
METHOD Shell
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease a 12-inch tart pan.
Pulse flour, sugar and salt a few times to combing
Add cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand
Add egg and pulse until the dough just comes together but does not clump into a ball.
Chill in fridge for an hour.
Roll dough between sheets of wax paper until ~2 inches wider and longer than the tart pan (It needs to cover the bottom and all sides of the pan,) then refrigerate for 15-30 minutes
Spray tart pan and flip chilled sheet of dough onto the pan and press into all corners. Dock the dough on the bottom of the pan.
Fill with baking beads and bake 15-20 minutes, until the dough is dry and the edges begin to brown.
Take from oven and remove parchment paper.
Egg wash the edges of the tart.
Return to oven and bake crust until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely. Filling
Beat melted and cooled white chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl until smooth. Mix in cream cheese until thoroughly combined. Spread over cooled crust. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Glaze
Combine 1/2 cup water and white sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix remaining 1/2 cup water and cornstarch together in a bowl until cornstarch dissolves; add to sugar mixture. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and clears, about 5 minutes. Stir in corn syrup and return to a boil. Remove glaze from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Topping
Arrange strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries over cream cheese layer and brush with glaze. Chill for at least 1 hour; store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
aBatteredOldSuitcase 