Yeast buns with marzipan

This recipe was created as I wanted to prepare a yeast buns for a dessert. I had only few ingredients in my cupboard and now you may see the result of my experiment. Would you like to give it a try ?

Ingredients for 12 buns:

• 2,5 cups flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• about 20 g butter
• 2 tbsp sugar

Mix the yeast with water and sugar. Set aside.

Place the flour and salt into an electric mixer bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix with yeast dough hook. Heat up the milk, add butter, sugar and stir well. Pour into electric mixer bowl. Knead until forms a ball (when it is too loose add more flour). Place to dough ball into a bowl, put into warm place and let it rise.

In a meantime prepare the filling.

Filling :

• 200g marzipan
• 1 - 2 tsp all spice

 Place the marzipan and spices into a blender and whizz until combined. Turn into 12 balls. 

Take the dough out of a bowl. Roll it, cut out of it the circles. Grease the muffin tin pan with butter. Place each circle into muffin tin nest. Then place a ball of filling inside. 

Place in a warm place to prove.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Bake the buns in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until golden. 

Baked bun set aside to cool down. Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Mini barnbrack

I have nearly forgotten I have this recipe to publish. I have baked those muffins during Halloween time. If you try to make them  I promise you will enjoy them even now. Barnbrack is traditional Irish Halloween cake usually baked with some hidden surprises so people who find coin, ring etc..could foreseen their future. Anyway it's very tasty. Packed with dried fruits and spices served with butter... yum. The recipe comes form this website . 

 Ingredients for 12 barnbracks:

• 225g dried fruits (raisins and cranberries)
• 2 cups strong tea
• 55 ml warm milk
• 2 tsp dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 350g flour
• 80g sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 35g soft butter
• 1 tsp salt

 Fruits place in a bowl and cover with tea. Leave them to soak overnight or at least one hour.

Pour milk into a cup add yeast and sugar stir well and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a meantime put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg into an electric mixer bowl and mix them until combined. Then make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture add egg, butter and salt. Knead with hook attachment for about 10 minutes. After that time dough should be smooth. 

Drain the fruits, chop them into smaller chunks. Add to the dough and knead until fruits are well incorporated. 

Transfer the dough into a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside for minimum an hour to rise. 

Grease muffin tin holes or round baking tin.

Transfer the dough on the worktop and knead it for a few minutes. Then divide into 12 pieces and place each dough ball into muffin tin hole. You can easily place whole piece of dough into round cake tin. Set aside to prove for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes for muffins or 35 - 45 minutes for cake.

Serve sliced with butter and hot tea.

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Chocolate hearts

Chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day. This is the recipe for chocolate bread which I transformed into chocolate heart shaped buns. The buns were spongy, soft. I enjoyed them with butter and orange marmalade.

The recipe comes from 'Home baking cookbook'.

Ingredients for 6 buns:

• 225g flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp dried yeast
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 150 ml water

Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder into a an electric mixer bowl. Add the sugar and yeast (if they don't need to be dissolved with water first - check on package). Mix everything together. 

In a jug mix the warm water and oil. If your yeast need to be dissolved stir them in now. 

Pour the wet ingredients into a dry ones. Mix with a dough hook until form a dough. Then knead for 5-10 more minutes. 

Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Brush muffin tin holes with oil. 

Tour out the dough again and knead lightly for 1 minute. Cut into 6 even pieces and place each in muffin tin hole. Cover with a cloth and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Bake the buns for 25 - 30 minutes. Transfer the buns to wire rack and leave to cool. Serve with butter and jam.

If you would like to make a loaf of bread from this recipe double to amount of ingredients, follow the method and bake in 900g loaf tin. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Chocolate Rum babas for Valentine's Day

Around this time of year my heart shaped muffin tin is widely used. This time I have baked heart shaped babas which are perfect for Valentine's Day. Rich in chocolate, yeast cake soaked in honey and rum syrup sounds like perfect romantic dinner dessert. They also not very much difficult to make. It is only the time you need to let the dough rise. 

The recipe comes form Jacqueline Bellefontaine "What's cooking. Chocolate" cookbook.    

    Ingredients for 6 babas:

• 100g flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 6g yeast
• salt
• 15g sugar
• 40g dark chocolate grated
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp milk
• 50g melted butter

Into an electric mixer bowl put the flour, cocoa, yeast (check the packed they may need to be dissolved first if so add them to wet ingredients), salt, sugar and dark chocolate. Mix them until combined.

In separate bowl whisk the eggs with milk. Pour in warm, melted butter. If your yeast need to be dissolved add them now to the wet ingredients and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients. Mix with a dough hook for about 10 minutes.

Slightly brush the muffin tin holes with oil. Divide the dough among all muffin tin holes filling them half way. 

Set aside in a warm place, covered with kitchen cloth to let them prove. When the dough rises almost to the top of the tin preheat the oven to 200C. Bake the babas for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove form the oven and leave for a few minutes to cool them down.

 While the babas are being baked prepare the syrup. 

Rum and honey syrup:

• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp water
• 4 tbsp rum

Pour all ingredients into a sauce pan and heat them up until turn into a smooth, slightly thick mixture.

When babas are cooled down turn the muffin tin upside down and press the babas out. Drizzle the syrup over the babas and leave them to soak for about 2 hours. You may serve them with whipped cream.

Honestly we couldn't resist and we ate them before that time. They were delicious. Children loved them too but they ate the ones I haven't drizzled with rum. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Chocolate swirl buns

Soft, fluffy yeast dough filled with chocolate and cinnamon - this is the perfect autumn snack. I know that yeast dough needs patience from the person who prepares it. But it is worth it. And those particular buns can be prepared day earlier, stored in the fridge and baked in the morning. Imagine having them for Saturday breakfast .... The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients for 12 buns:

dough:

• 120 ml milk
• 50g sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tsp dry yeast
• 1 room temperature egg
• 250g flour
• 45g soft butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Pour the milk into a sauce pan add pinch of sugar and heat the milk up to the body temperature. The best way to check if the temperature is right is to put finger into a warm milk. If you don't feel the milk is too hot is perfect. Add the dry yeast and set aside. Let stand until foamy.

In a meantime put the sugar into a bowl add the egg and whisk with fork until creamy. Whisking continuously pour in slowly the milk mixture. 

Sift the flour and salt into an electric mixer bowl. With the dough hook  mix the flour and slowly pour in the milk mixture. Mix until all ingredients combine. Then add the butter and let it knead until butter is absorbed by the dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl cover with a linen cloth and set aside to rise. 

Prepare the filling.

filing:

•  45g butter
• 50g sugar
• 200g chocolate
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Break the chocolate into smaller pieces and place them in a blender. Add the butter, sugar and cinnamon and blend until resemblance fine crumbs.

Set aside.

Prepare the muffin tin. Grease slightly each muffin nest.

When the dough is double in size transfer it on dusted with flour kitchen worktop. Punch and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

With a rolling pin roll the dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle with chocolate filling and roll along the longer side. With a sharp knife cut into 12 slices. Place each slice into prepared earlier muffin tin. Cover with linen cloth and set aside to prove for about half an hour.
If you planing to eat the buns for breakfast keep the muffin tin in a fridge overnight.

After half an hour brush the buns with mixture of whisked egg and milk. One egg and 2 tablespoons of milk. 

Insert into preheated oven. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until well risen and golden.

Enjoy them warm or cooled down :)

Brioche muffins with pate stuffing

Brioche muffins with pate stuffing are great alternative for a sandwich. Very tasty, fluffy brioches with surprising inside. The preparation process is a little bit time consuming but it is worth it. The recipe comes from Carol Pastor '75 best - ever muffins' cookbook.  

Ingredients for 10 muffins:

• 15g fresh yeast
• 10 ml warm water
• 4 eggs
• 350g flour
• 35g sugar
• 10g salt
• 175g unsalted butter
• 150g pate
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 egg yolk

To prepare those muffins mix the dough day before as it needs the be kept in the fridge at least overnight, or 24 hours.

Crumble the yeast into a food processor bowl, add  warm water and mix with a dough hook until smooth.

Add the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Beat together 6-7 minutes on low speed. Then gradually add the butter. Continue to knead for about 15 minutes. Place the dough into a plastic bag and leave in the refrigerator for 24 hour, or overnight. My dough was a little bit sticky so I wrapped it into a cling film and left in the fridge overnight.

The next day prepare the pate. Cut it into 10 pieces and with lightly floured hands form each piece into a ball. Set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 220C. Grease slightly the muffin tin holes.

Remove the dough form the fridge. Place it on a floured work surface. Form into a sausage and cut into 10 equal slices.

Place the pate in the centre of each slice of dough. Then press the dough around the pate to form a smooth ball. Put the dough into muffin hole. The author recommends to put it with a seal below, but then there is a risk that pate might stick out of the dough during baking. I would recommend to put it with a seal on top, this will keep the pate in the middle of each muffin. 

Repeat with remaining dough.

When all the muffins are ready, prepare egg wash. Put the egg yolk and milk into a bowl and whisk with fork until smooth. Brush each muffin top with egg wash.

With a sharp knife slash the top of each muffin twice.

Leave in a warm place to prove for 15 minutes.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until well risen and gold.

Turn out the muffins, place them on plate to cool down. Enjoy !

 

Yeast cupcakes with rose petal jam

Preparing those cupcakes is very easy although is time consuming as the dough needs a time to rise. In my opinion those cupcakes are good enough to give them a try. They taste like yeast buns, soft but chewy filled with sweet jam.  The dough recipe comes from this web site, petal jam form store and icing takes two minutes to make. 

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes:

• 4g dry yeast
• 125g sugar
• 125 ml milk
• 300g flour + some to add while kneading
• 55g butter
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• one petal jam jar

Melt down the butter and heat up the milk. Set aside.

Into electric mixer bowl sift the flour, add yeast and salt. Combine all ingredients.

Into a separate jug pour the warm butter add sugar and eggs whisk them for a while. Then add the milk. Pour this mixture into dry ingredients and with a yeast dough hook, knead the dough. If the dough is too runny add spoon or two of flour. The dough will not form a ball it is going to be sticky instead. Transfer the dough into a bowl sprinkled with small amount of flour. Put the bowl into warm place for 40 minutes and let it rise.

While the dough is rising grease muffin tin and preheat the oven to 190C.

Remove to dough form the bowl and put it on dusted with flour surface. Whit a rolling pin roll it to make a rectangular shape (about 15 by 25 cm.). When ready spread rose petal jam over the dough leaving 1 cm frame all around. 

Roll the dough along the longer side to create a jelly roll. Divide the roll into 12 slices, cut it and put  each slice flat into muffin tin hole. Brush each muffin top with milk.

Put them into the oven for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden. When ready remove from oven. Leave them for a while in baking tin. In a meantime prepare icing.

Ingredients for icing:

• 100g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp water

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl add the water and mix it with a spoon until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the muffins to the plate and cover with icing. Enjoy !

Berry brioche muffins

Those muffins are perfect for a special breakfast treat. The only thing you have to remember is to prepare the brioche dough a day ahead. They are easy to make but the yeast dough need some time to rise. Brioche is French pastry with high egg and butter content. This time is baked in muffin tin, so you get lovely light and puffy buns with rich and tender crumb. The addition of fresh blueberries makes them moist. I think they taste the best when served sliced with butter and jam and of course cup of coffee.  

The recipe comes from Carol Pastor '75 best -ever muffins' cook book.

Ingredients for 10 muffins:

• 15g fresh yeast
• 4 eggs
• 350g plain flour
• 50g caster sugar
• 10g salt
• 175g unsalted butter
• 115g fresh blueberries

For egg wash:

• 45 ml milk
• 1 small egg yolk

Crumble the yeast into electric mixer bowl fitted with dough hook. Add 2 tsp warm water and mix the two together.  The water has to be  body temperature, if it is too hot the yeast won't do their job.

When the yeast is dissolved add the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Beat at low speed for about 6 minutes.

Turn up the speed and gradually add the butter. Continue beating for 12-15 minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny. 

Put the dough into plastic bag, seal it and chill for 24 hours or overnight.

After that time lightly grease the cups of muffin tin.

Lightly sprinkle the surface with flour, remove the dough from the bag. With the rolling pin flatten the dough 10 cm wide. Press the blueberries into the dough.

 

Cut the dough into 10 even pieces. Using floured hands, from each into a ball, the press into a muffin tin holes.

Set aside in a warm place to prove.

Preheat the oven to 220C. 

Prepare the egg wash. Mix the egg yolk and milk in a bowl. Brush thinly over each muffin top. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and risen.

Take the muffins out of the muffin tin. Serve fresh for the beats results.

Cinnamon roll muffins

If you like cinnamon rolls this recipe is for you. This is no knead, mess free yeast dough with beautiful cinnamon taste and vet sweet icing. The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredneits for 12 muffins:

• 210g flour
• 60g sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 12g fresh yeast
• 175 ml warm milk
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Prepare baking tin, grease muffin tin holes. Set aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, salt into big bowl and whisk them together. Warm up the milk, dissolve the yeast in it. Pour this mixture into dry ingredients. Add the oil, vanilla and egg. Combine all ingredients together. Pour the liquid mixture into prepared earlier muffin tin. Set aside, let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

In a meantime prepare cinnamon filling.

Ingredienst for filling:

• 2 tbsp soft butter
• 100g brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch ground cardamon

Mix together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl using fork until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture evenly between top of each 12 muffin tin holes filled with batter and swirl in with  toothpick. 

Place into a cold oven, then set temperature for 180C. Bake for 20 minutes, until muffins are browned on the top and springy in touch. Some of the sugar on top may still be bubbling.

Cool for at least 30 minutes. In a meantime prepare icing.

Ingredienst for icing:

• 60g powdered/icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add 1 tbsp of milk and with a fork combine them. If the mixture is too thick you may add additional tbsp of milk, be careful it can not be too runny. Drizzle the icing over each muffin top. Serve warm. Enjoy !

 

English muffins II

This is second time I baked English muffins. I used to make English muffins before but this time I had slightly different recipe. This recipe comes form 'Home baking' cookbook. Even though I liked the other ones very much I was not disappointed with this ones ether. They were vary tasty, especially served with strawberry jam.

Ingredients for 10-12 muffins:

• 450g strong white bread flour
• 14g fresh yeast or 7g dried ones
• 250 ml warm water
• 125 ml natural yogurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• some semolina for dusting
• vegetable oil for brushing

Mix the yeast with water until it has dissolved. Add the yogurt and mix well. Sift the flour and salt together into electric mixer bowl. Add the yeast mixture and mix until it forms soft dough. Knead with hands or electric mixer with dough hook for 5-10 min until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a bowl cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in warm place for 30-40 min or until doubled in size.
In a meantime prepare a baking sheet, dust with the semolina and set aside. 
Sprinkle the surface with some flour and turn out the dough again and knead lightly. Roll it out to a thickness of 2 cm. 

dough after being rolled out

With a round cutter cut into 10-12 rounds. Place them on prepared earlier baking sheet and scatter the semolina over each muffin. As you can see I did not have round cutter so I used glass instead.

cutting rounds

Cover the muffins with tea towel and leave to rise in warm place  for 30-40 min.

 

 

 

muffins while rising

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Lightly brush with oil. Add the muffins and cook for each side until sound hollow when tapped on the base, taking care not to burn them. Repeat with the remaining muffins.  

Serve freshly cooked with lots of butter and some jam. 

English muffins

It would not be a blog about muffins if I did not bake and write about English muffins. In Britain they simply called muffins but to the rest of the world they are English muffins. Their name comes from times when an English baker who emigrated to America introduced them to the local people. They do not look like typical muffins, more like ugly bread rolls :). They are chewy and their taste reminds me about bagels. I like to eat them spread with butter and orange marmalade. They are classic base for egg Benedict. There are lots of recipes for English muffins, I think every baker have its own. This time I used Rachel Allen recipe published in cookbook 'Bake' and I was not disappointed.   

Ingredients for 10 muffins:

• 500g strong white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 350 ml milk
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp dried yeast or 15g fresh yeast (I used fresh)
• semolina for dusting

Heat up the milk in microwave until it is warm, then stir in the yeast and sugar. Set aside for 5 min until the mixture is frothy. 

In a meantime sift the flour and salt into big bowl. Pour milk into dry ingredients. Knead the dough with hand or electric mixer with  dough hook for 6-8 min. The dough should change into springy ball. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. 

After that time knock back the risen dough and knead with hands another 2-3 minutes. The dough should look like the one on the picture. Sprinkle the work surface with semolina and place the dough on it. Cover with an upturned bowl and leave for further 30 min. Without knocking back the dough, roll it into a log about 20 cm long (second picture). Then slice it into 10 pieces 2 cm each (third picture). Place each slice on dusted with semolina work surface (fourth picture). Dust the top of each muffin with semolina and using your palm flatten them slightly so they are about 1.5 cm high. Cover again with tea towel and leave to rise for about 30 min. Meanwhile heat up the pan, Rachel Allen recommends heavy cast-iron grill pan or frying pan, I had Teflon frying pan. When the pan is hot, reduce the heat to very low and cook the muffins (sixth, seventh picture). When they are cooked, they will be golden brown on both sides (mine were too brown but still tasty)  and will sound hollow when tapped on the base. Remove cooked muffin from the pan and wrap in paper towel so they will not get too crusty (eight picture). When they cooled down remove form the paper towel and place in bread box.

Serving suggestion something like egg Benedict

Serving suggestion with marmalade

   

Hot cross buns

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Hot Cross Buns!

This nursery rhyme refers to buns which are usually bake on Good Friday in Ireland and UK. Hot cross buns are yeast - leavened, sweet, spiced, made with raisins buns with a cross on top of them. The cross is a symbol of The Crucifixion. I haven't made traditional buns, as my blog is devoted to muffins and cup cakes. I have chosen recipe for no fuss buns from BBC Good Food which are baked in muffin tin.

As I am Polish and live for a few years in Ireland, I combine customs and I put hot cross buns into Easter basket. Traditionally in Poland, Easter baskets are prepared on Holy Saturday filled with boiled coloured eggs, slice of bread, ham, sweets and taken to a Church for blessing. This food is served for Easter breakfast, most important meal for Polish during Easter and everybody have to take a piece of blessed food. 

Ingredients for 12 buns:

• 500g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp dried yeast or 3g fresh one
• handful raisins
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 50g marzipan
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

In a large bowl place the flour, raisins, mixed spice and add 350 ml of warm water. If you use dry yeast simply put them into flour before water. When you add fresh yeast instead of dry ones dissolve them in the water. Stir everything together, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise for 3 hours. You can also place the bowl in the warm oven (no more then 50C) for 1 1/2 hour.

Before baking

Heat up the oven to 180C. Butter a 12 hole muffin tin. Sprinkle a worktop with some flour put the dough on it. The dough is a little bit sticky. Divide it into 12 balls and drop each into muffin hole. Leave them again to rise for 10 min. In a meantime dissolve 1 tbsp of sugar in 2 tbsp of water. Brush each bun with sugary water. Bake for 20 min. If they don't turn brown after 15 min in the oven you may brush them again. 
When baked remove them from the oven. Brush again it will help to stick marzipan cross better. Use golden marzipan, make small stripes, roll it in your hands as play dough, and lay cross on the top of each bun. Return to the oven for 5 min.

Before returning to the oven

Happy Easter !!!