Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls

I love making these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. It's just so fun to see the swirls and colours come together, as the rolls rise and bake. I know, I'm a nerd. I made them again just the other day, so I could take some to work as treats for the people I work with. They never last long around my house, and in the office it was the same.

 The recipe that I used to make these called for a caramel icing. This is one of the things that drew me to the recipe, but I found it just a little too overwhelmingly sweet. So this time I decided to try the rolls with a simple glaze. I think it worked out really well.

Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls
[printable recipe]

Ingredients:
ROLLS
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup plain flour
1 cup bread flour

FILLING:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, melted

ICING:
4 tbsp butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-6 tbsp hot water

Method:
1. Prepare rolls: In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tbsp butter until just warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly
2. In a large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in egg and yeast. In a seperate bowl, combine flours. Add half of the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into a lightly greased bowl, then grease the surface of the dough lightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x10 rectangle.
4. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the dough. Beginning with the long side of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the seams to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut the roll into twelve 1 inch slices. Place rolls cut-side-up in a greased baking pan.
5. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30-45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake the rolls about 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the pan to a baking paper lined wire rack. Cool the buns 10-15 minutes.
7. While the rolls are cooling, prepare icing: Mix butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add hot water 1 tbsp at a time until the icing reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle over the top of the rolls and serve. 

Tarta de Santiago recipe

I found this recipe in the latest issue of the Gourmet Traveller magazine and thought it would be perfect to make for my Dad's birthday. After all the help he's been giving me with my apartment, and getting things done there it was the least that I could do. I had pretty much no storage in the apartment when it was built, apart from the kitchen cupboards but now I have pantry cupboards, wardrobes and a great cupboard in the bathroom all thanks to Dad :)

The addition of the dulce de leche made it just all the more appealing. Yum! The Tarta de Santiago is traditionally decorated with a fancy cross stenciled in icing sugar, but I thought the heart would mean a bit more to Dad. It looks quite sweet, I think!

Magnolia Bakery's Lime Pie

My gorgeous twin nieces, Indi and Maggie were baptised recently. Don't they look gorgeous in their little outfits?! I was so happy to be asked to be Maggie's (on the right) Godmother. This is the second time I've become a godmother (the other time was my other beautiful niece Ruby) and it's always so special to be asked.
The girls were so good, they're just very relaxed, happy babies. Everything went well, especially when the priest poured the water over their heads. No crying!

We had a really nice family lunch at my sister's house afterwards and I was asked to make a Lime Pie for it. I've made this pie a few times before and it's just so easy to make and delicious. It's from one of the places I visited while in New York, Magnolia Bakery so you know it's going to be great. I love citrus desserts, and I think this one has the perfect level of lime flavour - a little tangy without being too over the top.

Recipe Source:
The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery

Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe

I know it's been ages since I mentioned my new apartment but I've finally had an update this week. I was able to see the inside at an inspection held by the real estate agency. It was exciting to be able to see inside (rather than just driving by and trying to see what had been updated all the time), and while I was a little overwhelmed at how small the apartment is, I'm now looking forward to seeing what it will look like once I've moved in. It's going to be an interesting challenge getting that balance between having all that I need in there without it looking cluttered. Here's a sneak peak, I'll post more photos once I'm all moved in and have it decorated the way I want it. Isn't it pretty though?!

What better excuse to do some baking and to try out one of my many pinned recipes on Pinterest? I had a tin of pumpkin purée in the pantry so I thought I'd try out this recipe for Starbuck's Pumpkin Pound Cake. Although apparently this recipe is for a modified and slightly more healthy version of the Starbuck's one it still tastes fantastic. The spices also add a lot of flavour to what's a very dense but moist cake. 

Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Fat Free Vanilla Yoghurt

3 Egg Whites

1 cup Canned Pumpkin

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a loaf pan, set aside. 

2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, yoghurt and egg whites. Whisk thoroughly until blended. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir until completely incorporated.

4. Pour into pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

5. Once cool, drizzle with a glaze or top with cream cheese icing (if desired)

Source: Something Swanky recipe for Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake

Maple Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

For the past few years for Mothers Day, my sisters and I have put together an afternoon tea for our Mum. We each bring a plate of either sweet or savoury treats (we decide beforehand who will bring sweet or savoury) and spend the afternoon devouring them! This year I was asked to make something sweet so I decided to make a recipe from my Baked Explorations cookbook. I chose this recipe for Maple Cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting that just looked too good to pass up. And they turned out beautifully too. Not only did they look gorgeous, but they tasted just as good. There was a lovely sweetness from the maple syrup and a nice crunch from the walnuts which I really loved. These are cupcakes I would definitely make again.

Ingredients:
For the Maple Cupcakes
3 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
125g butter, slightly softened, cut into chunks
2 tbsp vegetable shortening, at room temperature (I used copha)
2 cups pure maple syrup

3 egg yolks

1 egg

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

For the Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
200g unsalted butter, softened
340g cream cheese, softened
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 163 degrees C. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter and shortening until ribbonlike. Turn the mixer to low and stream in the maple syrup. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is nearly uniform in colour, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the egg yolks and egg, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

4. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stream in the milk.

5. Stop the mixer, add the rest of the flour, then turn the mixer on until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

6. Fold in the walnuts.

7. Fill the prepared cupcake pan about 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. (Note: these cupcakes take longer to bake than traditional cupcakes due to the maple syrup)

8. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the cupcake pan, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the Cream Cheese Maple Frosting:

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the softened butter until it is completely smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the sugar and the maple syrup and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the frosting or it will lose structure.

Decorate the cupcakes using a piping bag.

Recipe Source:
Maple Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting from
Baked Explorations Cookbook: Classic American Desserts Reinvented

Apple and Raspberry Pie

I have a confession to make. I don't like apples. Well, I don't like apples on their own. I love them in pies and cakes and apple flavoured things, but I don't like the feeling of biting into a whole apple. I don't know why, it's just something that's happened in the past few years. On the other hand my Dad absolutely loves apples, and in particular his favourite thing to do with them is to stew them and eat them with ice cream. The only thing is that he doesn't flavour them in any way, so he's pretty much just eating mushy apple. One of our neighbours has been feeding this habit (literally) by giving him boxes of apples from his trees, so I recently decided to surprise him with a proper apple pie. The recipe I followed for the pie was one I found through the Martha Stewart website and I found the recipe for the pastry in the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 1/4kg apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices
170g fresh or partially thawed frozen raspberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plain flour, plus more for work surface
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp heavy cream

For Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Brisee):
400g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 tbsp vinegar, chilled
100g caster sugar, chilled
2/3 cup water, chilled
665g plain flour, chilled
1 tsp salt
To make the pastry:
1. Remove the butter from the fridge 20mins before you start mixing - the butter should be just soft but still very cold so it doesn't melt through the pastry while mixing.
2. Put the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and add the water, stirring well. Set aside for 10 mins, then stir again to completely dissolve the sugar.

3. If you are mixing the dough by hand, mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl and toss through the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour to partly combine.
4. If you're using an electric mixer, put the flour and salt in the bowl of the mixer and add the butter, pulsing in 1 second bursts about three or four times to partly combine.

5. You should now have a floury mix through which you can see squashed pieces of butter. Turn out onto a clean work surface and gather together. 

6. Sprinkle over the sugar mixture and use the palm of your hand to smear this mixture away from you across the work surface (a pastry scraper is a useful tool to use for this step). Gather together again and repeat this smearing process twice more before gathering the dough again. You may need to smear once or twice more to bring it together - you should be able to see streaks of butter marbled through the pastry; this gives a slightly flaky texture to the final product.
7. Divide the dough into two even sized portions and shape into two round, flat discs about 2cm thick. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

8. Remove the pastry from the fridge 20 mins before you wish to roll it. Sprinkle a little flour on the bench and rub a little flour over a rolling pin. Working from the centre of the pastry, gently roll the dough away from you, then turn the dough about 30 degrees and roll out again. Repeat this process until you have a flat round disc, about 3mm thick. Sprinkle extra flour over the bench and rolling pin as needed, but try to use it as sparingly as possible - if too much is absorbed into the pastry it will result in a dough with poor flavour and texture. Bear in mind that you are trying to flatten the pastry into a disc, not ferociously stretch it out in all directions as this will only cause the pastry to shrink excessively when baking.

9. Transfer the pastry to a tray and place in the refrigerator, covered in plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours to allow the gluten to relax.

10. Brush a round pie tin with a little butter. Place the pastry on top of the pie tin, ensuring it is in the centre and use your fingers to gently push the pastry into the tin, moving around the rim until all of the pastry has been inserted - you should have about 1 cm of dough hanging over the sides. Use your index finger and thumb to work your way around the edge, forcing the pastry into the tin so that little or no pastry is left protruding. Set the pastry (in the tin) aside to rest for at least 20 minutes in the freezer so that the gluten relaxes and holds its shape when you line it with foil.

11. Once the tart has been lined and rested, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line the pastry with a double layer of aluminium foil, making sure the foil is pushed well into the corners. Pour in some baking beads or uncooked rice to fill the case and bake for 20-25 minutes. This is called blind-baking ie. pre-baking the pastry before filling it to ensure the base is crisp and cooked through.  The baking time will vary considerably from oven to oven. When cooked properly, the pastry should have a golden colour all over, particularly in the centre, which tends to be the last part to colour and become crisp. The pie shell is now ready to be filled. 

To make the pie:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Stir apples, raspberries (I used frozen), sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt in a large bowl. Pour into your preprepared pastry shell. Dot with butter.

 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disc of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into a round suitable to the size of your pie shell. Drape over filling. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Press edges to seal. Fold overhang under, and crimp as desired. Make five 3 inch slits in top crust. Refrigerate 20 minutes.

3. Whisk egg yolk and cream in a bowl; brush over top crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mix.

4. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, 1 hour 10 mins to 1 hour 20 mins. Place foil on rack below to catch juices. Tent pie with foil if browning too quickly. Transfer to wire rack.

Recipe Source:

Recipe for Apple Raspberry Pie from the Martha Stewart website.

Recipe for Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Brisee) from

the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook

Cinnamon Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns

One of my favourite things about Easter is the hot cross buns, especially toasted with melted butter on top. I don't mind the traditional ones with sultanas but my favourite would have to be choc chip ones. When I found this recipe for Cinnamon Choc Chip ones, while I was searching for something to cook for Easter, on Not Quite Nigella's website I knew I had to try making them myself. And I'm so glad that I did! There were a few comments that I read on NQN's site, that said that these buns were like a combination of cinnamon scrolls and hot cross buns, and I have to agree with them. I also really liked the fact that the cross was made out of white chocolate - so much better than the usual tasteless crosses on hot cross buns.

Hot Cross Buns, just made

The buns tasted just as good the day after. I went with my sister, Bern, my brother in law, Tom, my nephews, Archie and Lenny and a couple of my sister's friends, Chek and her son Buster and Emma, to the dawn service for ANZAC day. ANZAC day is a day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand to honour the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) who fought in Gallipoli in World War 1. Since World War II, though, ANZAC day became a day to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders who fought and died in war, from the World Wars, to Vietnam, to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We decided to go to the dawn service at the memorial cross at the top of Mt Macedon, and I'm so glad I decided to go and brave the 4.15am wake up. I've never been to a dawn service before and it was very moving and thought provoking. 

Memorial Cross, Mt Macedon

Since ANZAC day is a public holiday, we headed back to my sisters afterwards for breakfast, which included my hot cross buns, or Claire buns as my sister's friend nicknamed them. They went down perfectly with the coffee my brother in law, Tom, made and got many compliments! 

Hot Cross Buns & Coffee

Recipe Source:
Not Quite Nigella website

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I know I've already posted about Red Velvet Cupcakes on this blog in the past, but I wanted to share them with you again. I can't get enough of these wonderful, soft, moist cupcakes. They're usually my go to when I need something to bake that I know will turn out well, and I often get requests to make them for various occassions. Recently my sister Andrea approached me about doing some baking for my niece, Ruby's christening. She requested these Red Velvet Cupcakes and a White Chocolate Mud cake (which I'll post about soon). I found these beautiful Robert Gordon patty pans in a cooking shop in the Melbourne CBD and just had to buy some to use for the cupcakes. Perfect for a little girl I think!

My sister had about 20-25 people coming so I wanted to aim for everyone to get at least one cupcake each. I started off making just one batch first to see how many I could get, and then made a second batch, ending up with about 30 cakes in total. I was able to stick with one batch of the cream cheese frosting mixture though, as it was enough to cover all the cupcakes.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour (to make cake flour - for each cup of cake flour required replace 2 tbsp of plain flour with 2 tbsp corn flour)
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp red gel food colouring
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp white vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.

Recipe Source:
Martha Stewart website
Red Velvet Cupcakes