Baked Yeasted Doughnuts/Donuts

Yes there is something about doughnuts or as they call it Donuts…..soft spongy melt  in  the mouth amazing donuts…topped with chocolate or sprinkled with fine sugar ,baked or fried…..there is something about all of em

 

My husband will vouch for that…..for somebody who is not a food freak, rather for somebody who generally hates eating….he makes an exception with donuts. ok lets put it like that-he is also a doughnut lover.

 I got a chance to bake my donuts this time…thanks to Aparna’s We knead to bake-6.The donuts turned out well …..maybe not as soft as fried donuts….but good enough. But like most people I lov the fried doughnuts I made earlier, better.

Well donuts can be served as a tea time snack, for a bday party ,when friends meet or for a family get together…may be for no reason at all….just to munch a way…a perfect muncher’s delight.

Kids love them…. My son Aniket loved them too…well and that’s going to an excuse to bake some doughnuts again and again .Ready for the recipe…here goes-

Adapted from Lara Ferroni ’s Doughnuts

Ingredients

Superfine sugar-1/4 cup

Warm Milk-1 cup(45c/115F)

Instant  yeast-3/4 tbsp(1 tbsp active dry  yeast)

Salt-1/2 tsp

Vanilla essence-2 tspcut into 1 inch cubes.

Cake flour- 1 cup (or 1tbsp cornstarch + enough all-purpose flour to make up to 1 cup)

All-purpose flour-1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups(1 cup initially and between  1 -11/2cup later  to be used only as required)

Butter-100gm  cut into 1 inch cubes

Method

Using a processor to knead helps but you can do this by hand.Put the sugar, milk, yeast, salt and vanilla in the processor bowl and pulse to mix well. Add the cake flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour and process, adding a little more of the flour as necessary till the dough is thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Now add the butter pieces one at a time and process till there no large chunks of butter are left in the bottom of the bowl. Now add a little more flour until you have a soft, pliable and elastic dough that is most but not overly sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased large mixing bowl., turning it to coat well. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise till double in volume. This should take about an hour.

Punch down the dough and roll out to a thickness of 1/2" thickness. Cut out doughnuts using a doughnut cutter or whatever you have on hand to cut out 3” diameter with 1” diameter holes. If you’re making doughnuts to fill with jam, then do not cut out the holes. Place the doughnuts and the holes on parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheets, leaving at least 1” space between them.

Re-roll the scraps and cut out more doughnuts. I used the last left over scraps of dough by pinching of bits, rolling them into balls and baking them too. 

Let them rise for about 20 minutes or till almost double in size and then bake them at 200C (400F) for about 5 to 10 minutes till they’re done and golden brown. Do not over bake them.

This recipe makes about 12 to 14 doughnuts and holes.

Take them out of the oven and immediately brush them with the melted butter and then dip  them into the cinnamon sugar mixture. If filling the doughnuts with jam, let them cool.

Put the jam into a piping bag with a writing nozzle/ tip and press into the doughnut from the side and gently press out the jam into the doughnut till it starts oozing out. Jam doughnuts do not  need too much jam to fill them.

If glazing your doughnuts, let them cool completely and then dip one side of the doughnut in the glaze of your choice and let it set.

Torcettini Di St Vincent

 I finally decided to make the Torcettini today. Something I have wanted to make for a long long time Last three months were full of travel. Whatever I wanted to make I never got to make and my to do list piled up….but finally here I am ready to bake my Torcettini. Actually  torcettini project was a part of the We Knead to Bake March task…..A bread baking group started by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen. But I couldn’t keep to the time lines this time. I was supposed to make this post in March….But better late than never.

Like how Aparna mentions : They are yeasted dough cookies crunchy on the outside and have a somewhat bread-like texture on the inside. Torcettini are smaller versions of Torcetti (meaning small twists) and these pear/ teardrop shaped twists are made of a dough of flour, yeast and butter which are shaped and then rolled in sugar before being baked. Traditionally these biscuits/ cookies are shaped by rolling out bits of dough into “ropes” and then pinching the ends together to form a “teardrop” shape. These are shaped by crossing the rope of dough near the ends to pretty looking twists.

These biscuits/ cookies are synonymous with the town of Saint Vincent in Valle d'Aosta, a small mountainous region in North-Western Italy, even though they’re well known throughout the Piedmont region as well.

Source:Aparna:My Diverse Kitchen

A detailed recipe is given below-:

Ingredients

Warm water-1/2 cup (45C/110F)

Active dry yeast-1 ¼ tsp or 1 tsp instant yeast

All purpose flour-1 ½ cup

Lemon zest/lime/ crushed anise seed -1 tsp 

Cold unsalted butter-40 gms plus 21/2 tbsp cut into small pieces

Granulated sugar-1/3 cup for rolling the cookies

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, in a small bowl and keep aside.

Put the flour and the salt in the food processor bowl (or a largish regular bowl if kneading by hand) and pulse a couple of times to mix. Add the butter . pieces and pulse until the butter is well mixed and the flour-butter mixture looks powdery.

Add the yeast-water mixture and pulse till it all comes together as a ball. Do not over process or knead. Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, turning it so it is well coated with the oil. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise quite a bit. This dough does not really double in volume, but it should look “puffy” after about an hour or so. When you pinch off a bit from the top you can see the interior looking a bit like honeycomb. Press down the dough and deflate. it, wrap it in cling warp and refrigerate it for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

When ready to make the cookies, take the dough out and lightly roll it out into an approximately 6” square. If the dough feels sticky, scatter a little  sugar on it. Using a pizza wheel cut the dough into four strips of equal width. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces, by cutting across, making a total of 24 pieces. The measurements are not very critical in this part because this just makes it easier to have 24 equal sized bits of dough, as compared to pinching of bits of the dough.

Roll each piece into a pencil thick “rope” about 5” long. Sprinkle a little sugar on your work surface and roll the “rope” in it so the sugar crusts the dough uniformly. Form the “rope” into a loop crossing it over before the ends.

Place the Torcettini on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2" between them. Leave them for about 20 minutes or so till they rise/ puff up slightly. They will not “puff up” much, like bread, but the “puff” will be visible.

Bake them at 160C (325F) for about 25 minutes till they’re a nice golden brown. Cool the cookies completely, on a rack. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature.. This recipe makes 24 cookies.

Some tips

For a variation on these biscuits, you can make them chocolate flavoured.  If making chocolate Torcettini, remove 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and add 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder.  Also add 2 tbsp powdered sugar and replace the lemon zest with orange zest while making the dough.

Once your Torcettini have been shaped, don’t let them rise for longer than 20 minutes. If you do, your Torcettini will more bread-like on the inside due to the extra “rise”.

To make sure the Torcettini dough does not rise for more than 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to work on shaping the 2^nd batch while the first batch is in the oven.

 If you do not want to use parchment paper, you can grease you cookie sheets and place the shaped Torcettini dough on them directly. Just remember to take them off the sheets while they’re still hot. You will need a spatula to the dislodge them, and do so carefully so they don’t break. Once they’re cool, the caramelised sugar on the Torcettini make them stick to cookie sheets and they become difficult to dislodge without breaking them

Cream Au Caramel-Caramel Pudding

This dessert tasted like a very creamy version of butterscotch icecream to my Mom and she loved it…To my surprise. May be because of the taste of caramelized sugar she says. You see my mom dislikes milk and milk related dishes. So it came as a surprise when she tasted my newly made dessert and a smile flashed across her face… I was overjoyed when she tagged the milky dessert ‘’nice’’

Well like how my mom said it’s the taste of caramelized sugar that gives this dish its unique rich taste. You can even caramelize some cashewnuts into praline and add it to the dessert to enhance its flavour.

While my mother and I tasted our first scoop of the dessert Aniket was busy with something else. When he realised we were happily tasting something in his absence he tiptoed to my side and tugged at my dress. I fed him a little of the caramel pudding and there u go again….when I  saw the glee on his face I knew one more Caramel pudding fan will be added to the list-LIL Aniket.

Another wonderful dessert for you then. Yes by the end of the day we had our fill of the dessert. I'm not going to save it for tomorrow also. Never mind I told myself. I’m making some more again tomorrow.

Inspired by: Cook eat and Move Fast

Ingredients

Milk-1 ½ cups

Cream-1/2 cup

White chocholate-100gms

Corn starch-25 gms

Sugar-40 gms

Butter-30 gms

Method

Chop white chocolate and melt it.

Dissolve corn starch in 3 tbsp of milk and keep aside .Make sure there are no lumps

In a non-stick pan add sugar and sprinkle a few drops of water over it. Cook over low - medium heat stirring continuously till it becomes golden brown and caramelizes.

Switch off flame. Add butter and mix well.

Switch on the flame and pour milk over the caramelized sugar and boil at medium flame/heat.

Caramelized sugar crystallizes but will eventually melt with the heat, so keeps stirring till it dissolves in the milk completely.

Add corn flour milk mixture to the above and cook till it thickens. Keep stirring.

In the meantime melt the chocolate and add mix it to the milk sugar corn flour mixture.

Take off flame and mix till chocolate dissolves completely.

Add cream and whip lightly.

Refrigerate for 2 hrs at least.

Serve cold

Gobi Manchurian

Got fresh cauliflower from the vegetable shop today. I've been wanting to make crispy deep fried golden brown Gobi Manchurian for a long time. Somehow, even last time when I bought  Cauliflower I never got to make them .I made sweet corn Paneer Veg curry instead. 

The cauliflower was stashed away to a far end of the pantry with newer supplies taking the front row seats . I forgot about the cauliflower. When I finally remembered 2 days later the cauliflower was not good enough, not as fresh. So this time when I bought them  I made Manchurian the same day itself.

Being indo Chinese it’s on everybody’s favourite list and a great starter too. Crunchy golden brown fried cauliflower florets sauted in  the sauces can go well with chapathis or fried rice…

I can have a plateful in one go...take one then  dip it  into the sauces ...crunch ,smack......there you go.... the plate is empty in seconds...In my case atleast......

Here is the recipe....

Ingredients

Capsicum-1/2-1 medium sized

Cauliflower-1 medium sized

Spring onion -1/4 cup

Onions-1/4 cup (optional)

Minced garlic-11/2 tbsp

Minced ginger- 2 ½ tbsp.

Green chilli-1-2 chopped

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp

Tomato sauce-3-2 tbsp

Soya Sauce-11/2 tbsp

Oil-1/2 tbsp

Green chilli sauce-1/2 tbsp

Vinegar-1 tsp

Pepper-1/2-1 tsp

Maida/all purpose flour-1/4 cup

Cornflour-1/4 cup

Rice flour-1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Ginger garlic paste + green chilli paste-1 tbsp

Water-1/2 cup approx.

Baking soda-1/2 tsp

Method

Cut cauliflower into small florets. Soak in hot salt water for 10-15 minutes.

Par boil florets in salted water over medium flame for 3-4 minutes. After boiling drain off excess water and pat dry florets on tissue paper.

Mix flour, corn flour, rice flour,baking soda, salt, red chilli powder, ginger garlic green chilli paste with water to form a paste

Dip the florets in the mixture, so that it coats the florets well and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the coated florets and cook over reduced flame till Gobi is cooked, crisp and golden brown in colour. Do not over crowd the vessel.

Drain of excess oil from the fried florets using a tissue paper.

Heat oil in a large wok. Once piping hot add chopped garlic and stir fry for a few seconds.

Add chopped ginger and green chilli and stir fry on high for a few seconds.

Reduce heat .Add onions and sauté well.

Add spring onion whites and stir fry on high for 3-4 minutes constantly tossing them.

Add sliced capsicum and stir fry for 3 minutes. They should retain the crunch.

Reduce to medium heat. Add pepper, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, vinegar.

Combine and cook well and cook for 2 minutes. Add 3-4 tbsp of water and cook for 2 minutes.

Add deep fried Gobi. Toss in high flame for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat

Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and serve hot.

Notes

Donot keep deep fried cauliflower florets idle for a long time. They will lose the crunch. Make the Manchurian a few minutes before serving.

You can add a tsp of brown sugar with the sauces.

Cream Of Broccoli Soup

I wanted to try out a nice soup this time to add to the blog. What would it be? I had been eyeing the fresh broccoli sitting at the vegetable vendor’s last two times I visited them. But I would postpone buying it every time. How about broccoli soup?

Broccoli hails from the Cabbage family and originated   in Italy. It is an ample source of Vitamin C and dietary fibre.  A cup of this hot green coloured soup is therefore a rich supply of nutrients.

 The cream of broccoli soup is creamy, rich with the taste of vegetables like cabbage,bottlegourd and potatoes that go into  making the white stock which is a necessary ingredient .A little salt and a dash of pepper on the green coloured steaming soup dotted with small green broccoli florets finish the dish-one of the best soups ever.

 I started making the soup….The process was a wee  bit lengthy…Since I had no readymade white stock I made it.then I proceeded to  make the soup finally.…but  the soup was so yum my haphazard kitchen  and the cleaning process after making it was soon forgotten as I sipped the hot hot soup….

Ingredients

For White Stock

Chopped Bottle gourd/lauki-1/3 cup

Chopped Potatoes- 1/3 cup

Onions- 1/3 cup

Shredded Cabbage-A handful

For broccoli soup

Butter-3 tbsp

Onions-1/4 cup

Broccoli florets-3/4 cup

White stock-2 cups

Plain flour- 2 tbsp

Milk-2 1/2 cups

Pepper powder–to taste

Nutmeg  powder- to taste

Salt- to taste

Method

For white stock

Combine   all vegetables with 4 cups of water and boil till water reduces to ¾ of its quantity and vegetables are cooked. Keep aside to cool

Blend in mixer and strain

For broccoli soup

Heat 11/2 tbsp butter in a pan.Add onions and sauté on medium flame for 2 minutes

Add ¾ of the broccoli florets and sauté on medium flame for a few minutes.

Add white stock .Cover with a lid till cooked. Stir at frequent intervals while they cook.

After it cools blend in mixer.Strain.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. of butter in another deep pan; add flour and sauté on medium flame. Make sure flour does not discolour.

Add milk and stir continuously on sim

Add salt,pepper, nutmeg powder and mix well.

Add the broccoli purée, mix well and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes.

 Serve hot garnished with small  broccoli florets.

Avocado Milk Shake/ Vietnamese Sinh To Bo

I like milkshakes over ice creams.I always preferred a thick soothing milkshake to a chilled ice cream dessert.This milk shake recipe is the Vietnamese version of an Avocado milk shake.While skyping I heard reviews of the milkshake from my aunt and cousin in the US,but never got a chance to taste it.

So when I found some avocados after coming back here to Cochin I wasted no time to buy  some ripe ones .The next day I finally made The Sinh To Bo.The recipe is quite simple with no cooking involved.If topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream it’s a 10 on 10.

Avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico and is also called butter fruit.They are rich in vitamins and potassium.It’s also  a sure suggestion for lowering cholesterol levels.What more do you want from a glass of thick Avocado Milkshake?  You will love this green beauty .Just like me

Ingredients

Medium sized ripe Avocado-1

Condensed Milk-1/3 cup

Vanilla Ice cream/Whip cream-2 scoops

Milk-1/4 to ½ cup

Ice cubes-8

Method

Scoop the Avocado flesh .Add it to condensed milk,whip cream,ice cubes.Blend in mixer pouring milk little by little.

Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream .

Note

I did not add the ice cubes. You may add it only if you require.

Canistel/Egg fruit Loaf Cake-Celebrating A Year Of blogging..

I searched the internet for a recipe to make with the egg fruits I had bought the other day.Remember my fruit shopping spree the otherday? The egg fruits I had got were sufficiently ripe now and I was eager to make something new with them.

As always the internet landed me in a variety of cooking options…that it put me in a dilemma should I make egg fruit soup or Egg fruit shake? Finally I decided to make the egg fruit loaf cake.

So this was going to be my first post on Cakes.Now istn ’t that a good start?

Egg fruit is a sub tropical fruit and they originate from Peru.It is closely related to canistels and is similar looking to a hard boiled egg yolk,hence the name.It is a nutritious fruit rich in Carotene and VitaminB.

My loaf cake came out just fine -soft and munchy. The flavour  and  brown colour that the egg fruits lend to it was too good. The taste of egg fruit in the cake was complimented by  ground and powdered  cinnamon and cloves  I had sprinkled into the cake batter.

So  I proudly served some egg fruit cakes  for tea today. I just loved the cake. Every bite of it…

Ingredients

All pourpose flour-2 cups

Baking soda-1/2 tsp

Salt-1/4 tsp

Clove-3

Cardamom-1 inch long stick

Butter-1/2 cup

Sugar-1 cup

Eggs-2

Milk-1 cup

Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp

Canistel/egg fruit-boiled and mashed into fine paste-1 cup

Method

Peel the canistel.Pressure cook the canistel .Grind to fine paste

In a bowl combine flour,salt,baking soda.Dry grind the spices (cloves and cinnamon)and add.

Powder the sugar.Beat the butter with sugar.

Add eggs and beat well.

Add milk and canistel paste and beat till all the ingredients are mixed well.

Fold in flour mixture.Transfer to greased loaf pan.

Preheat Oven to 180 C and bake for 30-35 minutes. 

Cool on wire rack and serve.