Archives for Breads & rolls

apple cakeThis is a slightly modified version of Teddie’s Apple Cake from The Essential New York Times Cookbook via epicurious

ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 sticks butter (I’ll keep experimenting with a little less)
  • 2 cups sugar (all white or 1 c white and 1 c brown)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • at least 3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced apples, 5 is probably better
  • 1 cup raisins or cranberries
  • you could try adding 3/4 cup of apple butter
  • Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan. Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

2. Beat the oil and sugar together in a mixer with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla, apples, and raisins and stir until combined.

3. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out.

4. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Cooking notes: 
If mixing the batter in a mixer, use a paddle attachment and turn the speed to low once you add the flour mixture, or the texture of the cake will be tough. Even better, mix the rest by hand.

The recipe called for Red Delicious or McIntosh apples, but I’d recommend a variety that’s brighter in flavor and firmer in texture, such as a Honeycrisp, Macoun, or Granny Smith.

The apple slices can be halved if you want a more uniform texture.

This cake can be eaten at any time of day, including breakfast. If you serve it for dessert, the recipe suggested a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I prefer to whip 1/2 cup of heavy cream to soft peaks, then fold in crème fraîche to taste.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Teddies-Apple-Cake-362089#ixzz2l7KTVDmI

A recipe from epicurious. We made this stuffing for Christmas 2010 and it was a hit but we all agreed the bread should be cut a lot smaller.

1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 8-ounce French-bread baguettes, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Combine 1 1/2 cups hot water and dried porcini in small bowl. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to work surface; chop finely. Pour mushroom soaking liquid into small bowl, leaving any sediment behind, and reserve.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shiitake and button mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes. Add leeks and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine, thyme, and porcini mushrooms. Cook until almost all wine evaporates, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover mushroom mixture and porcini soaking liquid separately and chill. Reheat mushroom mixture to lukewarm before continuing.) Transfer mixture to very large bowl.

Mix bread into mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper; mix in egg.

To bake stuffing in turkey:
Loosely fill main cavity and neck cavity of turkey with stuffing. Add enough mushroom soaking liquid to remaining stuffing to moisten slightly (1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, depending on amount of remaining stuffing). Generously butter baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish — alongside turkey or while turkey is resting — until heated through, about 25 minutes. Uncover stuffing in dish. Bake until top of stuffing is slightly crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.

To bake stuffing in dish:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add enough reserved mushroom soaking liquid to stuffing to moisten (3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups). Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Bake uncovered until heated through, about 40 minutes.

Ingredients:
2 c rolled oats
3/4 c. molasses
1 yeast cake
2 c. scalded milk
1 c. water
2 tsp salt
flour- about 2 quarts or 8 cups
1 Tbsp butter or lard

Directions:
Scald milk, add yeast, liquid, sugar, and salt. Stir and let stand to dissolve- 5 minutes. Add 1/2 sifted flour, beat until almost smooth and very elastic. Beat in melted and cooled shortening. Add remaining flour- work in as much as possible. Let stand 10 minutes then turn onto floured board and kneed until smooth and elastic. Round up a cover and let stand 2 ours. Punch down dough. Round up, let set til double in size- 3/4 hours. Punch down adn divide for loaves. Set 15 minutes then mold into loaves. Let rise again in pans. Bake at 400 for 10 minute then at 375 for 1 hour. Makes 3 loaves.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 c sugar
3/4 c pumpkin
1/4 c vegetable oil

Directions:

Beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil with an electric beater. Stir mixture into sifted dry ingredients just to blend. Fold in 3/4 c raisins and 1/2 c chopped nuts. Bake 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 12 2 1/2 inch muffins.

Perfect for the extra pumpkin that you always have when you make a pumpkin pie. Mom made these muffins for us this morning while we shoveled the driveway.

  • 1 pkg. yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup creamed cottage cheese
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp dried dill
  • 1 Tbsp minced onion (I use dried)
  • 1 unbeaten egg
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 1/2 – 2 1/2 cups flour

Soften yeast in warm water.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Slightly warm cottage cheese with butter, sugar, salt, dill and onion.  Add yeast mixture and egg.  Beat well.  Sift soda with flour and add it to form a stiff dough, pausing after each addition to beat well.  Cover, let rise 60 minutes or until double in bulk.  Turn into a very well-greased casserole, 2 to 2/1/2 qt.  Let rise 60 min., covered loosely.  Bake on middle shelf at 350 degrees for 40-50 min.  Turn out, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.  serve hot at table, thickly sliced.