Golden Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Now that it's the holiday season and the outside temperature is a good reason to light a fire in the wood burning stove, it is also a good time to bake yeast bread. Yeast dough rises perfectly in a warm, moist environment; a wood stove and stainless steel pan of water help to create this environment that also is quite comfy for humans and cats.

I happen to love whole grain breads, and this loaf not only has a wealth of wheat flavor but bakes to a lovely brown color. The extra pizazz added by braiding the dough adds a lightly festive touch to it all. The addition of honey rather than granulated sugar adds a depth of flavor that is unique, and it also creates a baked good that is light rather than dense.

Although this is not a sweet bread, it is a treat. Slather a thick slice with real butter or cream cheese and enjoy with a cup of hot tea.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

1 pk. (2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast
1 c. all purpose flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 large whole egg
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. golden honey
1 c. warm water


In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flours and salt. Measure one cup of dry mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in yeast and blend at lowest speed.

In a microwave-proof measuring cup or glass bowl, heat water, oil and honey together for 1-2 minutes or until liquid reaches 165 degrees. With blade turning slowly on the mixer, add warm liquid. Beat on low-medium speed for 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of the flour mixture and egg. Beat using blade until thoroughly mixed, then switch to dough hook. Blend until dough forms a ball and clears the edges of the mixing bowl.

Using vegetable oil pan spray, grease the inside of a large bowl. Turn dough out of the mixing bowl into the greased bowl, greasing the top and sides of the dough. Moisten several paper towels and cover the mixing bowl. Place dough in a warm, draft-free area (85 - 100 degrees is best) to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Punch down dough after it has risen, and separate into three pieces that are equal in size. Using your hands, shape each piece into a 14" long rope. Braid the ropes together on a nonstick surface (parchment paper is excellent). Tuck the ends under, and place braid into the loaf pan. Cover with moistened paper towels and allow to rise a second time, about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place loaf, uncovered, into oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Buttery Orange Summer Squash Cake

Buttery Orange Zucchini Cake - a tasty way to eat your vegetables
and use up a lot of your zucchini harvest.

It's already August, and that means the start of the Indiana State Fair and the end of the zucchini harvest. This year has been good for squash, as long as the garden was mulched and watered. Squash of all kind thrive in heat and high humidity, and luckily, there were no squash bugs or stink bugs around to ruin things.

With several pounds of zucchini on hand, it means there is a lot of cooking and preserving going on. Zucchini and other squash lend themselves to being put into cakes, breads, muffins, and turned into pickles.

This recipe incorporates the best of all worlds: real butter, lots of shredded zucchini and the bright refreshing flavor of oranges.  The recipe makes enough batter for 3 9" rounds, so if you need a lot of cake or a spectacular 3-layer creation, this is a good bet.  Even though it calls for all purpose flour rather than cake flour, it is light and delicate. It gets an extra leavening boost as well as some additional tang from buttermilk.

I used golden zucchini, so no peeling was needed. Green zucchini will need to be peeled before shredding, otherwise the batter will turn the color of pistachios. I baked mine in a super-large loaf pan (available for sale at Gordon Food Service stores), and was able to get two nice loaves out of it. One was for eating right now, and the other is frozen for later consumption.

The cake stays moist enough to eat without frosting, but for a layer cake, use an orange or vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting to highlight the citrus flavor.

Buttery Orange Summer Squash Cake

3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar, or combination of granulated sugar and stevia-based sweetener for baking
3 tsp. fresh grated orange zest, or 2 tsp. dry orange zest
1 c. butter (no substitutes), softened at room temperature
1 c. buttermilk
4 eggs
3 c. shredded summer squash or zucchini
1 1/2 tsp. orange oil, or 2 1/2 tsp. orange extract

Preheat oven to 30 degrees. Grease and flour 3 9" cake pans, or 1 13x9 baking pan and 1 small loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, orange oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Add and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternate addition of dry ingredients and buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

Slowly fold in shredded squash, and pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees until cake tester comes out clean. For 9" rounds or a small loaf, time will be 25-30 minutes. For a 13x9 pan, time will be 45 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then release onto wire racks to cool completely. Cakes can be bagged and frozen for later use, or frosted with a buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

French Silk Mousse

When it's too hot to bake, there is always the option of using pie filling in a different way. This mousse uses the basic French Silk pie filling, but eliminates the crust.

The filling is made extra rich and smooth with the inclusion of pastry cream, made by heating evaporated milk mixed with egg yolk. I use powdered egg yolks for this purpose, because they dissolve readily in the liquid and it eliminates having to separate eggs (and having whites left over). The custard created serves as a vehicle for effectively melting and incorporating chocolate. The end result is a smooth, creamy and very rich chocolate filling that marries well with the whipped cream layers.

French Silk Mousse

2 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. evaporated milk
3 egg yolks
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, shaved
Fresh fruit for garnish
Whipped cream

Using the paddle blade of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy and all of the sugar is incorporated.

Place evaporated milk and egg yolks in a 1 quart saucepan. Heat to a simmer on medium-low, stirring constantly to ensure the solution doesn't stick. Remove from heat once the mixture becomes thick and coats the spoon. Stir the chocolate into the hot mixture, making sure that all of the pieces have melted.

Slowly pour the milk mixture into the cream cheese, beating with the stand mixer on low. Increase the mixer speed to medium and whip all ingredients together.

Layer the chocolate mixture with whipped cream in dessert glasses. Top each serving with fresh strawberries, raspberries or mint leaves. Cover and chill until served. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sponge Cake and Twinkie © Cream Filling

Sponge Cake with Twinkie © Cream Filling

Sponge cake is a feather light dessert that is traditionally served during Passover. Like angel food cake, sponge cake depends on whipped egg whites for leavening and for its airy texture. The addition of beaten egg yolks adds richness to the cake that isn't present in angel food. In addition, egg yolks help to keep the cake moist.

Sponge cake needs no icing, but it can serve as the base for several different toppings. Among the favorites are flavored whipped cream, lemon curd and fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries.

For those of you who miss the Hostess Twinkie ©, use this sponge cake recipe and Twinkie whipped filling to make a Twinkie-like dessert. First, bake the sponge cake in a traditional tube pan. When the cake is cool, slice in half horizontally. Use a sharp knife and cut a shallow tunnel into the bottom layer. Fill the tunnel with the Twinkie whipped filling, and replace the top of the cake.

Of course, you can just slather a slice of the cake with the whipped filling and enjoy it that way too.

Sponge Cake

1 c. all purpose flour
1 1/3 c. sugar, separated
5 eggs, separated*
3 tbsp water
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

* To make this recipe easily, use powdered egg yolks and powdered egg whites. The powdered products combined with water are the equivalent of fresh large eggs. This eliminates the need to separate eggs and because of the product's purity, your meringue will whip higher as well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a standard tube pan or angel food pan with nonstick baking spray.

Place 5 egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using the wire whip blade on a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add 2/3 c. sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until all sugar is incorporated into the egg white mixture and volume is doubled. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine 5 egg yolks, 2/3 c sugar, water, lemon peel and vanilla. Beat with the flat blade of a stand mixer at medium speed  until yolks are thick and lemon colored. Reduce speed and add flour. Beat until mixture becomes a thick batter.

Using a rubber spatula, gently push beaten egg whites into bowl with egg yolk mixture. Fold egg whites into the yolks until the whites are incorporated into the batter. Pour into the prepared tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove cake from the pan immediately after it is out of the oven, and cool inverted on a rack.

Twinkie © Cream Filling

1/2 cup marshmallow creme
4 tbsp. butter (no substitutions), or 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. coconut oil
3/4 c. confectioners sugar (or a combination of confectioners sugar and corn starch)

Using the whip attachment of your stand mixer, whip together the marshmallow creme and butter. Add confectioner's sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until mixture is smooth and spreadable.

The combination of confectioners sugar and corn starch helps cut the intense sweetness of the filling.

For the purist, you can purchase what is called a "twinkle pan" that allows you to bake the sponge cake in the shape of the classic Hostess dessert. Then use a pastry bag and an injector tip (long and tubular) to fill your ersatz Twinkies © with the cream filling.

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Apple Cobbler

Apple Cobbler 

It's spring cleaning time, and one of the first places I wanted to clear out was the freezer. Lodged near the back was a quart of apple slices that I had frozen during the fall harvest. Apples are such a versatile fruit that my options for using these was nearly limitless. The time I had to spend in the kitchen, however, was not. I opted to make a deep dish cobbler. 

What makes cobbler different from, say, a crisp or a crumble? Crisps and crumbles have a streusel topping; cobbler is characterized by its crust of biscuits or dumplings, which soak up spiced and sweetened apple juice as they bake. The apples that I used were a mixture of sweet and tart apples that normally would be used in a cider blend. Any good baking or pie apple can be used to make the filling.

Apple Cobbler 

Filling:
4 cups sliced peeled apples
3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Topping:
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/3 c. softened butter or shortening
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together apple slices, brown sugar and spices. Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, and pour apple mixture into prepared casserole. Set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Add softened butter or shortening, and use a pastry cutter to cut into the flour mixture. Fold in milk, one tablespoon at a time, until mixture just holds together.

Drop flour mixture on top of apples using a tablespoon, covering entire surface with biscuits. Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes. Biscuits will be lightly browned. Serve warm, spooning apples over biscuit. Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired. Serves 6.

Holiday Favorites: Anise Slices Cookies

Holiday Favorites: Anise Slices

The herb anise is a traditional flavor for Christmas cookies in both Italy and Germany. Anise tastes like black licorice, so if you love black jelly beans then these butter cookies are for you. They are flavored with both essential oil and anise seed; the seed gives them a little crunch as well as taste.

The secret to having these cookies be light and have that melt in your mouth texture is to work the dough just until it comes together. Overbeating the dough will toughen the gluten in the flour, which makes the cookies dense. A good dough will begin to form large clumps, which can be shaped into a log by hand.

Dough shaped into a log and ready to chill

Anise Slices
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. anise oil
2 tbsp. anise seed

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and anise seed. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add egg and anise oil, and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add dry ingredients, beating slowly to incorporate and then until dough begins to form clumps and comes together.

Separate dough into two halves. Place each half on a separate sheet of waxed paper. Roll into a log 2" in diameter. Twist ends of paper shut and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice each dough log into 1/4" slices, and place slices on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden. Immediately slide parchment off hot baking sheet and allow cookies to cool. Makes 3 dozen.

Holiday Favorites: Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

Soft, chewy and highly dunkable gingerbread cutout cookies

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

At least once during the Christmas season, the entire family will be involved in making cutout cookies. Mixing, rolling out the dough, testing out the most recently acquired cookie cutter and then frosting and decorating the finished cookies take up the better part of a snowy Saturday.

These gingerbread cookies are soft, chewy and warm with the flavors of ginger and cinnamon. They can be left plain, frosted with buttercream or topped with royal icing and adorned with any number of finishing touches - sprinkles, dragees, sparkling sugars or crushed candies. Let little hands and imaginations go wild and forget about "perfection"; the end results will be an afternoon of incessant chatter, flour-drenched clothing and a plate of cookies that will end up as unique as the family members who created it.

Traditional Gingerbread Cutouts

3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/4 c. vegetable shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. mild molasses
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Melt butter and shortening together and pour into large mixing bowl. Add sugars and molasses and stir together. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow sugars to dissolve into the melted butter.

Add a third of the flour mixture and use a hand mixer to slowly beat into the butter. Beat in egg. Slowly incorporate the rest of the flour, beating just until blended.

Divide dough in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough to 1/4" thick on lightly floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters and place 1" apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 9 - 11 minutes, rotating sheets from bottom rack to top and vice-versa halfway through baking to prevent overbrowning. Allow to cool completely before frosting.  Makes 2 1/2 dozen, using 3" cookie cutters.

Tips:
Molasses has a slightly bitter taste that some people don't like. Dark corn syrup or dark honey (buckwheat or alfalfa) can be substituted for the molasses.

Use essential oils instead of ground spices for a more intense flavor. 1/2 tsp. ginger oil and 3 - 4 drops of cinnamon easily flavor a batch. The cookies will be a lighter color than those made with ground spices.  Essential oils can be found in the cake decorating section of Meijers or online at Amazon.com or from Lorann Oils.