Korvapuustit - Finnish Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon! It is so delicious with yeasted dough. I did not want to make those thick and sticky "Cinabon" rolls. Quite opposite, i love baked goods to be not as fattening as they might be. Those rolls you can by in europe in supermarkets, did not try them freshly baked though, but they sell them just in plastic bags which can be stored over time. This is how i made them.

Ingredients:

1 packet of active dry yeast (10-11 g.)

250 ml. milk

100 ml. sugar (I put 75 ml.)

450-500 g. flour

1 tsp. cardamom powder

75 g. buter at room temperature

1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:

2 tbsp. butter at room temperature

2 tbsp. cinnamon powder

3 tbsp. sugar

Egg for brushing

Sugar for sprinkle

Method:

1. Mix cardamom, sugar and and salt dissolve in slightly warm milk.

2. Sift most of the flour and mix with yeasts. Pour into milk mixture and mix until smooth.

3. Add butter and remaining flour, keep mixing until dough will not be sticking to the mixing bawl.

4. Cover with plastic film and let it rise in some warm place, until double in size. 40 minutes to 1 hour.

5. In meanwhile mix together cinnamon and sugar. Prepare butter, softened at room temperature and brush.

6. Kneed dough after rising for few minutes, then roll into rectangular 40 by 50 cm.

7. Spread the butter over it, keeping 1 cm from one side. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon filling. Roll into roulade.

8. Cut it diagonally, so one side of it will be about 5 cm, and another 3 cm.

9. Place rolls on the baking sheet, lined with baking paper leaving 5 cm. space between.

10. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it double in size (40 minutes or so).

11. Preheat oven to 225C.

12. Beat egg yolk with a little bit of water and brush the rolls.

13. Press with a spoon in the middle down. Sprinkle with some sugar or cinnamon on top.

14. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Lovely for breakfast! My BF loved them! I wish you too.

Pumpkin Bread

Winter started in Dubai finally. Raining a lot. This pumpkin bread is perfect winter dessert bread, the recipe is very easy and you can add anything to it! I made 2 loafs: one with dried cranberry and another with semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

(makes 2 loafs)

3 cups all-purpose flour (can be substituted to whole wheat flour)

2 cups sugar (i substituted one of them to brown sugar)

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 eggs A grade

2/3 canola oil

1 can of Libby Pumpkin Puree (without spices)

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 cup of dried cranberries

Method:

1. Mix together all ingredients, add pumpkin puree, eggs and oil.

2. Separate dough in two equal parts. Add cranberry to one and chips to another. Mix well.

3. Bake in preheated to 350 F (180C) oven for 45 min to 1 hour. Do not over bake! It has very delicate slightly moisture texture.

Happy Halloween to All!!!!!!

Happy Halloween to All! Community is full of tutorials and recipes fro decorated sugar cookies. I went for the simple one - spider net! In original recipe was used cocoa powder to color frosting. I used some gel food coloring, and made it green. I took this cookies to work and our company's official colors are black, green and white. So ended up being a "Branded" Halloween Cookies! Original recipe and tutorial on Zoom Yummy

Ingredients for sugar Cookies (2 dozens):

3 1/2 cups (460 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 larger eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the royal icing you need:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioner’s (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 F (176 C).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer.

4. Beat until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes).

5. Add the eggs and vanilla extract…

6. … and beat until combined.

7. Add the flour and salt and beat until you have smooth dough.

8. Place the dough on a floured surface and form a ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

9. While you are waiting for the dough to chill, you can prepare the royal icing.

Beat the egg whites with lemon juice.

Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until combined and smooth (soft peaks should form).

And while we need two colors for the cobweb design (brown and white) we need to divide the mixture now.

So divide the mixture into 2 parts – 3/4 (add the cocoa powder little by little into this part until you achieve the wished color) and 1/4 (remains white).

Keep the brown and the white mixture in airtight containers as royal icing hardens when exposed to air.

10. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge.

On a lightly floured surface roll out to the thickness of 1/4 inch (0,6 cm).

Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure it does not stick to the counter.

Using a lightly floured round cookie cutter cut out the shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven and let cool.

12. Decorate as desired with prepared icing.

Apple Pie

Sometimes regular short crust dough getting very boring in the pies. We have one nice french bakery in Dubai and i just love their pie crust. It is incredibly light and has a soft crunch to it.

This crust is just exactly what i was looking for! It is easy to make, has very little butter and gets this amazing crunch when baked. By the way one more detail - the crust doe not need to be pre-baked! And pie comes out just fine. If the pie is still not done in the middle, but slightly overly baked on the sides - just cover sides with foil and continue baking till the middle part is firm.

This recipe is adopted from Bon Vivant and will become my favorite crust recipe. I just added some almond flakes on top, all the rest is exactly like in the original recipe.

Apple Tart
Makes enough for one 10-inch tart or about four 4-inch tartlets (i made in 9 inch form)

Pâte Brisée
5 ounces/ 140 grams all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
2 ounces/ 55 grams margarine or butter, cut into cubes
¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
pinch of salt
¼ cup water, very cold

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the margarine cubes then, using your fingers, quickly rub them into the flour until each cube is completely covered with flour.

Make a well in the flour, then drizzle the water and use a fork to mix the liquid with the dry ingredients. Using your hands, work the dough to fully absorb the liquid until you get a texture that’s firm but pliable and not sticky. Add more water (if the dough is too crumbly) or more flour (if the dough is too wet) to achieve this consistency.

Shape the dough into a ball, then refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap for at least 45 minutes before assembling the tart. At this stage, the dough can be kept tightly covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To assemble:

3 medium apples, halved, cored and thinly sliced (2, if you’re making tartlets and I recommend slicing them with a mandolin at its thinnest setting)
½ ounce/ 15 grams vanilla sugar or ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ ounces/ 100 grams granulated sugar plus a pinch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon corn starch
3 large eggs
3/4 cup/ 200ml heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 400F/ 200C and grease the pan to be used.

Combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract in a bowl, then whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the whipping cream and whisk until the mixture is a pale yellow. Set aside.

After 45 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and flatten it on a floured surface with both hands. With a well-floured rolling pin, roll out the dough, flipping it after 2 to 3 strokes of the rolling pin while keeping it well-floured.

When the dough’s just about a millimeter thick, transfer it to the buttered tart pan by draping it over the rolling pin, then unfolding it on the tart pan. Use your fingers to gently press the dough into the pan’s corners. If you’re making tartlets, use a 6-inch cutter to cut out the crusts then gently press it into the tartlet molds. Remove any excess dough by either rolling the pin over the tart pan or snipping it off with a scissors.

You’re likely to have leftover dough at this point – we like to roll it up into a ball and bake it alongside the tart in the oven for a crisp, tasty dough to savor. It’s also a helpful indicator to tell when the crust is done.

Arrange the apple slices in a circle starting at the edge of the pan and work your way in until all the apples are assembled and the pan is full. If you’re making tartlets, layer the apple slices in a fashion that suits your fancy until it reaches the top of the mold. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar and the cinnamon over the apples, then pour the egg/whipping cream mixture into the pan.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the strength of your oven. The tart is ready when its surface has caramelized and turns a golden brown. Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. The tart is best eaten on the day it’s made.

Once again Million Thanks to Bon Vivant for such great recipe and step-bys-step recipe!

Biscotti

Simple biscotti recipe can sound differently with just a small addition of weird for this kind of bakery ingredient - banana. Banana makes the dough a little softer inside, while outside cookies still stays crunchy. I was a little worried how dried cranberry will compliment banana flavored dough, but the result was amazing. And also you can utilize soft bananas.
This recipe is adopted from one of Russian cooking journals. And had a huge success with my lovely fiancé.

Ingredients for 12 biscotti’s:

2 cups (280 g.) all-purpose flour
½ cup (140 g.) white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 soft bananas
1 Tbsp. olive (or any other vegetable) oil
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1/2 - 1 tsp. almond essence
1 large egg
1 cup blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
½ cup dry cranberry


Method:

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). I do not have a good oven, so guessing that it was the right temperature.
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
In separate bowl puree bananas using food processor or just with a fork. Add egg, vanilla and almond essences and mix well.
Add banana mix to the flour, mix well until dough will be smooth. Add almonds and cranberries.
Line baking tray with baking sheet. Pour the dough onto the sheet and form into rectangular shape 25 cm by 15 cm. Be careful on this one, because the dough will be very sticky and difficult to form, form the dough with wet hands or by helping with spatula or spoons.
Place baking tray in preheated oven and bake around 25 min or until golden color.
Take out baked loaf from the oven to cool slightly (for approximately 10min) and then cut into long stripes 0,8-1 cm thick.
Place the stripes back onto baking sheet and bake in the oven on lower heat, approximately 300 F (150C) for 15 min or so.
Then turn biscotti’s to the other side so they can get browned and crunchy from both sides – keep in the oven another 15 min.
The time of “drying” biscotti’s can differ depending on how crunchy you like them. If you like softer, than keep them less than 15 min.

Bon Appeti!

PS i like to dip them in black coffee.