Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby Pancake

Sundays were made for sweet treats like Dutch Baby Pancakes. These pancakes are fun, fast and easy to make. Just a few ingredients thrown into a pan (I like using a cast iron skillet,) bake for 15 minutes and… voila! A slightly sweet, puffy, airy pancake!

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1 apple, peeled cored and sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup of whole milk
3/4 cup flour
4 TBSP organic sugar
3/4 tsp organic real vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
In a 10 inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter. Add apple slices and cook for 5 minutes until tender over medium low heat. Take 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and add it to a blender pitcher.
Sprinkle cinnamon over cooking apples. Turn apples over to make sure they are getting soft on all sides.
Add remaining ingredients to blender and mix until just combined.
Pour batter over apples and place skillet in the oven. Cook for about 15- 17 minutes or until pancake is puffy and lightly golden. The pancake will collapse after you remove it from the oven. Dust with powdered sugar (unfortunately, I didn’t realize I was out of powdered sugar until after I made this so the pancake in the photo doesn’t have a pretty dusting of sugar on it.)
Serve immediately.

Peachy Almond Cake

Recipe Ingredients:

Ingredients for sponge
Eggs 4
Caster sugar 4 ounce
Flour 4 ounce
Baking powder 1 tsp
Peach essence ½ tsp
Praline ½ cup
Ingredients for icing
Fresh cream whipped 12 ounces
Icing sugar 2 ounces
Tin peaches as required
Flaked almonds ½ cup

Recipe Method
1. Make sponge cake of 4 eggs into 8 inches sandwich pan, whip cream add icing sugar, spread cake on a serving platter, brush with tin peaches syrup, spread with whipped cream, top lavishly with peach pieces, cover second with cake, moist with syrup, ice the sides and top with whipped cream, decorate sides of cake with flaked almonds, top with fresh cream, peach slices and praline.
  Baklava
Recipe Ingredients

200 gm Puff pastry
200 gm Walnuts
200 ml Sugar or golden syrup
1 Egg

Recipe Method

Add 100 ml sugar syrup or golden syrup to 200 grams crushed walnuts and mix. Roll 200 grams puff pastry with a rolling pin. Grease a 1-inch deep baking pan with butter and place half 1/2 pastry dough in the pan. Top with sugar glazed walnuts and then place remaining puff pastry in the pan. Brush with a beaten egg and bake in a pre heated oven at 200 f for 12 to 15 minutes. When the dough turns golden brown, take out of oven and top with golden syrup. Cut baked Baklava in the desired shape and serve.

Black forest gateau

Recipe Ingredients
4 eggs
4 oz caster sugar
3 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 oz cocoa, sifted
Filling :
420gm tin of black cherries, pitted
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
600ml cream
2 oz flaked almonds, toasted
Plain chocolate curls or grated chocolate to decorate

Recipe Method

Beat eggs, add sugar, fold in flour and baking powder and cocoa. Pour mixture in a 9” spring form tin and bake at 180 degree C for 30 minutes or till done. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Drain the cherries, reserve some of the liquid. Put cherry juice and corn flour in a pan and let cook till thickened. Remove from heat and cool. Add essence and cherries to the sauce. Reserve a few cherries for the top.

Whip the cream till stiff and chill. Cut the sponge into layers and sandwich with the whipped cream and cherry mixture. Top the cake with cream and decorate with flaked almonds, grated chocolate and piped cream. Top with the reserved cherries.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Recipe Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup Nutella (or any other chocolate hazelnut spread)
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla essence

Recipe Method

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients to combine; set aside. Beat the butter until it is soft, then add sugar. Add hazelnut spread and mix until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until they are well combined. Combine vanilla essence and milk. Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Beat just to combine. Divide batter among the cupcake tins. Bake at 180 degrees C for 20-22 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Swirl frosting on top. Decorate with hazelnut chocolates

Rainbow Cup Cakes

Recipe Ingredients

Flour 1 ½ cup
Baking powder 1 ¾ tsp
Butter ½ cup softened
Sugar granulated 1 cup
Eggs 2
Vanilla 1 tsp
Coconut essence ½ tsp
Milk ½ cup
Yellow, green, red and blue food colors few drops each
Ingredients for frosting
Butter softened ¾ cup
Icing sugar 2 cups
Milk 2 to 3 tbsp
Vanilla essence ½ tsp
Multi color candy sprinkles

Recipe Method

Preheat oven to 350 degree F, place paper cups in each of 12 muffins cup tray, sieve together flour and baking powder keep aside, beat butter with granulated sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, add in vanilla and coco essence on low speed alternately add flour mixture half at a time and milk half at a time, beating until mix, measure about half cup batter into 5 small bowls add 6 drops yellow food color in first bowl, tint second bowl green with 6 drop second food color, 3^rd bowl red with about 8 drops food color, 4^th bowl blue for about 10 drops food color and 5^th bowl purple with about 8 drops red food color and 3 drops of red food color, spoon 1 tbsp of batter into each cup, smooth to edge of baking cup with back of spoon, repeat with green, red, blue and purple batters, fill cups ¾ full, bake for 20 minutes, cool 5 minutes, remove from pan to cooling rack.

Method for frosting

Beat ¾ cup butter, icing sugar and salt till light and fluffy add in vanilla essence adding milk as required, beat till frosting is smooth and spreadable, pipe frosting onto each cup cake, decorate with multi color sprinkle.

Cinnamon Rolls (Buns)

Dough:

4 1/2 - 5 cups (590 - 660 grams) all-purpose flour

1 package (1/4 ounce) (7 grams) (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup (240 ml) milk

1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter

1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt

3 large eggs

Filling:

3/4 cup (160 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold (cut into pieces)

1/2 cup (120 ml) raisins or currants (optional)

Half-and-half (or light cream)

Glaze: (Optional)

1/2 cup (58 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 - 2 tablespoons half-and-half (light cream)

Cinnamon Rolls: In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (can use an electric hand mixer), combine 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) flour and the yeast.

In a small saucepan, stirring constantly, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt just till warm (about 120 degrees F) (50 degrees C) and the butter is almost melted. Gradually pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, with the mixer on low speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat this mixture on high speed for 3 minutes. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook (or knead by hand), and knead in as much of the remaining 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups (295 - 365 grams) flour until you have a soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes), but not sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Then gently punch the dough to release the air and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a bowl stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until the mixture is crumbly.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch (30 cm) square. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the rolled out dough and top with raisins (if desired). Lightly brush one end of the dough with a little half-and-half or light cream (to seal the edges of the rolls). Roll the dough to form a log, starting at the end opposite the edge you brushed with cream. (Do not roll the dough too tightly or the centers of the rolls will pop up during baking.) Slice the log into eight equal-sized pieces. Arrange rolls in a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch (33 x 23 x 5 cm) glass baking pan. Cover rolls loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise, at room temperature, until almost doubled (about one hour). (At this point you can refrigerate the Cinnamon Rolls overnight (up to 24 hours). Next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.) Break any surface bubbles with a toothpick. Lightly brush rolls with half-and-half or light cream. Bake in a 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till light brown, and a toothpick inserted into one of the buns, comes out clean. Also, if you lightly tap on the top of the buns they should sound hollow. If necessary, to prevent over-browning, cover rolls loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove rolls from oven. Brush again with half-and-half or light cream. Cool 5 minutes and then invert onto a baking rack and re-invert onto a serving plate or platter. Can drizzle with the Powdered Sugar Glaze.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 rolls.