Show us your buns
Discussion
Inspired by w
eLex's Cake Shop thread in the Business section, I thought I'd start a 'Show us your homemade baking' thread.
Here's the results of my Saturday bake-off.
- A plum platter cake with butter 'streusel' (crumbles)
- Plum and oat muffins (plums for both of these were home grown too - 'Marjorie Seedlings' the best plum variety for cooking)
- Sultana scones - I always use Rose Carrarini's recipe (she is the Rose of 'Rose's Bakery' in Paris)
- Rich chocolate brownie with baked cheesecake swirls
- Sicilian lemon tart
- Individual 'baum kuchen' (literally 'tree cake'; they are an almond sponge cake but made by grilling the cake in 1mm layers rather than baking the whole cake in one go. Then covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. I usually make it in one large round cake tin, about 30 layers high, but thought I'd make some individual-sized ones yesterday. They are truly a labour of love, taking well over an hour of constant attention during the'baking' phase)
ETA - Close up of the 'Baum Kuchen'
eLex's Cake Shop thread in the Business section, I thought I'd start a 'Show us your homemade baking' thread.Here's the results of my Saturday bake-off.
- A plum platter cake with butter 'streusel' (crumbles)
- Plum and oat muffins (plums for both of these were home grown too - 'Marjorie Seedlings' the best plum variety for cooking)
- Sultana scones - I always use Rose Carrarini's recipe (she is the Rose of 'Rose's Bakery' in Paris)
- Rich chocolate brownie with baked cheesecake swirls
- Sicilian lemon tart
- Individual 'baum kuchen' (literally 'tree cake'; they are an almond sponge cake but made by grilling the cake in 1mm layers rather than baking the whole cake in one go. Then covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. I usually make it in one large round cake tin, about 30 layers high, but thought I'd make some individual-sized ones yesterday. They are truly a labour of love, taking well over an hour of constant attention during the'baking' phase)
ETA - Close up of the 'Baum Kuchen'
Edited by V8mate on Sunday 26th July 14:17
Miss Pitstop said:
Any chance of that brownie receipe though?
It's a recipe I have edited to personal preference from elsewhere.This quantity will fill a 9" square by 1.5" deep tray.
For the brownie mix:
250g unsalted butter
250g dark chocolate (cooking chocolate is too expensive; both Tesco and Sainsbury do 'cheap' dark choc for 27p a bar in the confectionary section)
6 eggs
380g caster sugar
Teaspoon vanilla extract
150g plain flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
For the cheesecake mix:
250g tub of quark (all supermarkets sell it; with the continental cheeses like ricotta, mascarpone etc)
1 small pot of sour cream
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
Splash of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tablespoon of cornflour
Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. (adjust for fan etc)
1. Mix all cheesecake ingredients together until smooth and no lumps.
2. Melt chocolate in a bain marie with the butter. When melted and smooth remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. IN another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add vanilla extract. Beat until starts to froth; stop well before it starts to move onto the white stage.
4. Pour the melted chocolate mix into eggs. Fold in the flour and salt.
5. Pour chocolate mix into baking tin (greased/lined/whatever your preference)
6. Blob th cheesecake mix into the chocolate and swirl a bit with a knife. Drag about but don't actually mix it in.
Will take somewhere between 25 and 60 minutes to bake, depending on oven and type of tray. Don't overbake; brownies should be moist in the middle and it will continue to cook somewhat after it has been removed from oven.
Allow to cool fully in the tin. Then cut into slices when cold.
Enjoy
Mobile Chicane said:
I don't particularly like cakes either, but even I could be tempted by that plum streusel tart. The trick being not to make it too sweet.
That's why I use 'marjorie seedling' or 'czar' plums.Popular plum varieties like 'Victoria' are sweet when eaten but have a very high water content; this evaporates and leaves a dehydrated bit of plum 'skin' when cooked. The varieties above are much 'meatier' and retain the full flesh of the plum, even when cooked. They do, however, give up their sugar so, whilst being sweet straight from the tree, are much more tart after cooking; complementing the 'dough'.
I always use a yeast-based dough for plum cake too; downside is it goes stale very quickly, but upside is the wonderful yeasty taste and, cut into slices, the cake freezes and defrosts superbly.
I only put the streusel on top this time because I had slightly underestimated how many plums I needed and had to space them out slightly more than I would have liked.Mobile Chicane said:
V8mate said:
Mobile Chicane said:
I don't particularly like cakes either, but even I could be tempted by that plum streusel tart. The trick being not to make it too sweet.
That's why I use 'marjorie seedling' or 'czar' plums.Popular plum varieties like 'Victoria' are sweet when eaten but have a very high water content; this evaporates and leaves a dehydrated bit of plum 'skin' when cooked. The varieties above are much 'meatier' and retain the full flesh of the plum, even when cooked. They do, however, give up their sugar so, whilst being sweet straight from the tree, are much more tart after cooking; complementing the 'dough'.
I always use a yeast-based dough for plum cake too; downside is it goes stale very quickly, but upside is the wonderful yeasty taste and, cut into slices, the cake freezes and defrosts superbly.
I only put the streusel on top this time because I had slightly underestimated how many plums I needed and had to space them out slightly more than I would have liked. Yeast dough is crucial: that's the proper Pflaumenkuchen. What do I need to do in order to secure a piece?
Cotty said:
littlegreenfairy said:
Cotty said:
My team have cakes every friday. They buy them from a very good patisserie based in the Gurchin (spelling?) but if enyone brought in any of thoses in the OP post they would be very happy.
I don't partake as I don't do sweet foods.
Do you mean Konditor and Cook in the Gherkin? (St Mary's Axe)I don't partake as I don't do sweet foods.
If so, this place is on my cakey hit list on Thursday (oh yes, am touring the bakeries of the City!)
It is amazing.
Today I made a couple of carrot cakes. None of the nasty frosting stuff, just nice and sliceable so OH can take a piece to work with her each day.
Yummy bits include carrots (naturally), courgettes, banana, sultanas, walnuts and orange zest.
Come on - post pics of your cakes, biscuits, buns etc!
Yummy bits include carrots (naturally), courgettes, banana, sultanas, walnuts and orange zest.
Come on - post pics of your cakes, biscuits, buns etc!
Another thread this week mentioned the existence of a giant cup-cake tin.
Naturally, I had to have one!
Having allowed Lakeland to relieve me of £27 for said piece of kit, am I impressed?
Well... probably not. The top part of the cake comes out of the mould in a cup-cakey swirl shape, which then disappears entirely as you cover it in your 'gunge' of choice.
And I hate decorating cakes anyway; much prefer them to appear finished straight from the oven.
Anyway, here's the finished article. Carrot cake interior with a quark and icing sugar 'frosting' (to keep the taste 'fresh').
Naturally, I had to have one!
Having allowed Lakeland to relieve me of £27 for said piece of kit, am I impressed?
Well... probably not. The top part of the cake comes out of the mould in a cup-cakey swirl shape, which then disappears entirely as you cover it in your 'gunge' of choice.
And I hate decorating cakes anyway; much prefer them to appear finished straight from the oven.
Anyway, here's the finished article. Carrot cake interior with a quark and icing sugar 'frosting' (to keep the taste 'fresh').
Ok. Recipes as requested. First one for jam doughnut muffins.
Makes 8 very large or 12 medium-large 'muffins'
300g self-raising flour
135g cup caster sugar
80ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
150ml of plain yoghurt or soured cream
50ml milk
Sachet of vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Jam (I chose a seedless raspberry jam for this - has a more 'jelly-like' consistency which I think is perfect for doughnuts)
1. Combine the dry ingredients and a pinch of salt into a large bowl.
2. Put all the wet ingredients into a jug and mix together with a fork.
3. Pour the combined liquid into the dry ingredients and pull together with the fork.
4. You'll get a thick, sticky, heavy mass. More like a soft dough than a sponge cake mix.
5. Put a tablespoon of the mix into each muffin case. 'Dent' the centre and put a blob of jam in; then add another blob of the 'dough' to cover.
6. 180C normal oven; 160C fan oven. Bake until tanned - probably 15-18 mins.
7. Once they buns are out of the oven and coolish, melt 50g butter. Then mix some caster sugar in a bowl with a little cinammon. Brush the tops of the buns generously in the butter and then roll the tops in the sugar mix.
Put the kettle and scoff yourself to death!
N.B. The jam will 'make a break' for the surface during cooking. Don't worry; the more the jam spreads along the bun's 'fault lines', the yummier the finished product.
Makes 8 very large or 12 medium-large 'muffins'
300g self-raising flour
135g cup caster sugar
80ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
150ml of plain yoghurt or soured cream
50ml milk
Sachet of vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Jam (I chose a seedless raspberry jam for this - has a more 'jelly-like' consistency which I think is perfect for doughnuts)
1. Combine the dry ingredients and a pinch of salt into a large bowl.
2. Put all the wet ingredients into a jug and mix together with a fork.
3. Pour the combined liquid into the dry ingredients and pull together with the fork.
4. You'll get a thick, sticky, heavy mass. More like a soft dough than a sponge cake mix.
5. Put a tablespoon of the mix into each muffin case. 'Dent' the centre and put a blob of jam in; then add another blob of the 'dough' to cover.
6. 180C normal oven; 160C fan oven. Bake until tanned - probably 15-18 mins.
7. Once they buns are out of the oven and coolish, melt 50g butter. Then mix some caster sugar in a bowl with a little cinammon. Brush the tops of the buns generously in the butter and then roll the tops in the sugar mix.
Put the kettle and scoff yourself to death!
N.B. The jam will 'make a break' for the surface during cooking. Don't worry; the more the jam spreads along the bun's 'fault lines', the yummier the finished product.
Second recipe: the little cheesecakes. This recipe will deliver one medium-sized (10") cheesecake or a dozen smaller ones as I made above. Sometimes, I'll make a bit of sweet pastry to line the muffin tin 'cups' with, to give the cakes a more uniform shape (as cheesecake shrinks as it cools)
2 x 250g tubs of quark (from Tesco or Sainsbury. Waitroe quark is fine for desserts but way too soft for baking)
284ml soured cream
284ml double cream
20g caster sugar
3 large eggs (pre-beaten)
juice of a lemon or half a lime
2 sachets of vanilla sugar (or two little capfuls of vanilla extract)
Sour cherries - I get mine in a jar from Lidl; pretty sure Aldi sell them too.
1. Drain the cherries well; leavethem in a sieve, moving them about every few minutes to ensure as much liquid as possible is drained away.
2. Combine the quark, both creams, sugars, eggs, lemon/lime in a large bowl. Mix very well; electric whisk is great.
3. If you're going to line the tray or little muffin cases, do it now.
4. Carefully fold cherries in and then put mix into case(s).
5. Bake in a coolish oven; 170C normal oven, 140C fan oven for about an hour. Keep an eye on it; top(s) should a bit tanned and the cheescake will still be 'wobbly'.
6. Turn oven off and leave in oven with door closed for an hour to cool slowly. (Minimises cracing and collapse.
7. Rule Numero Uno with cheesecake: NEVER eat it the same day you bake it. Once it is cool, put it in the fridge overnight. Then, next day, get it out of the fridge an hour or so before serving to bring it back to room temperature.
Tea with the jam doughnut muffins; very definitely coffee with cheescake. Enjoy!
2 x 250g tubs of quark (from Tesco or Sainsbury. Waitroe quark is fine for desserts but way too soft for baking)
284ml soured cream
284ml double cream
20g caster sugar
3 large eggs (pre-beaten)
juice of a lemon or half a lime
2 sachets of vanilla sugar (or two little capfuls of vanilla extract)
Sour cherries - I get mine in a jar from Lidl; pretty sure Aldi sell them too.
1. Drain the cherries well; leavethem in a sieve, moving them about every few minutes to ensure as much liquid as possible is drained away.
2. Combine the quark, both creams, sugars, eggs, lemon/lime in a large bowl. Mix very well; electric whisk is great.
3. If you're going to line the tray or little muffin cases, do it now.
4. Carefully fold cherries in and then put mix into case(s).
5. Bake in a coolish oven; 170C normal oven, 140C fan oven for about an hour. Keep an eye on it; top(s) should a bit tanned and the cheescake will still be 'wobbly'.
6. Turn oven off and leave in oven with door closed for an hour to cool slowly. (Minimises cracing and collapse.
7. Rule Numero Uno with cheesecake: NEVER eat it the same day you bake it. Once it is cool, put it in the fridge overnight. Then, next day, get it out of the fridge an hour or so before serving to bring it back to room temperature.
Tea with the jam doughnut muffins; very definitely coffee with cheescake. Enjoy!
desyboy said:
V8mate said:
You baked the football-shaped bit of cake in one piece, right? 
No, you can get a ball shaped tin thats in 2 halves. you bake each seperate, then join with jam and cream.The tin for that huge 'cupcake' a few posts back is similar - one big tray with two 'pots' of completely different shape which bakes two cakes to be 'glued' together.
Spotted mince pies for sale in a supermarket yesterday; sent my taste buds tingling so thought I'd make the first batch of the year.
However, given that there were no expectant hordes, I decided to do some experimentation.
So, on a base recipe for an almond pastry, I did two batches, one with butter the other with Cookeen*. Then also tried some with an egg wash before baking and some without etc.
Varying success; glad I played 'test lab' in October rather than two days beore Christmas!
My poor work colleagues will have to put up with the outputs tomorrow
*Other traditional vegetable oil based baking fats are available
However, given that there were no expectant hordes, I decided to do some experimentation.
So, on a base recipe for an almond pastry, I did two batches, one with butter the other with Cookeen*. Then also tried some with an egg wash before baking and some without etc.
Varying success; glad I played 'test lab' in October rather than two days beore Christmas!
My poor work colleagues will have to put up with the outputs tomorrow
*Other traditional vegetable oil based baking fats are available
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