Orange Butter Ball cookies

Curiously, the originator of this recipe hailed these as springtime cookies due to the orange flavor.  I took one bite and immediately thought, "These taste like Christmas!"  Richly buttery, with just a hint of orange, these were my favorite recipe this year.  (The coconut is only decorative -- it doesn't give any flavor.)   They're very similar to Mexican wedding cookies, but more dense due to the cream cheese.

The only change I made was to use plain water and orange extract instead or orange juice in the frosting because the orange juice alone didn't impart any flavor.  For a milder orange flavor in the cookie, stick with the orange juice.

This is the second recipe I've made recently that called for rubbing the zest into the sugar, and I suspect this is an entirely unnecessary step.  I can see the point if you're going to sprinkle the sugar over something, but since they're both going into the same place and baked, I don't think the result would be any different if you simply dumped them in separately.  Why add an extra step and bowl to wash?  These instructions are somewhat unconventional; next time I will make them using the usual method (creaming butter and sugar, sifting dry ingredients together and then mixing in) and report back.

Here's what I used:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
grated zest of 1 orange
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons soft cream cheese, divided
2 tablespoons orange juice water, more if needed
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, more if needed
1/2 cup unsweetened finely-shredded coconut

Put the granulated sugar and the orange zest in a mixing bowl and rub the sugar into the orange zest.  Sift together the flour and salt and add to the sugar and mix on low speed briefly.  With the mixer still on low speed, gradually add the pieces of butter.  When the mixture begins to look like crumbs, add the vanilla.  Gradually add 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese. When the dough starts to clump together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead it by hand for a few seconds until it is fully combined. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Scoop out a small round of dough, about 1 tablespoon, and roll into a ball.  Place balls about 1 inch apart on baking sheet.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon cream cheese, the water, the extract, and the confectioners’ sugar. Mix on low speed briefly, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 more minutes.  The glaze should be as thick as glue.  Pour the coconut into a small bowl. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze, then into the shredded coconut, and let set for 20 minutes to harden.

Conclusion:  These were delicious!  They will be made again.  You could also add food coloring to the frosting if you wanted to tart these up a little, but I thought they were cute as they were.

Original recipe:  Orange Butter Drops with Shredded Coconut via Serious Eats, who reprinted it with permission from One Girl Cookies

Sugar-crusted Ginger Cookies

These are originally called "chewies", but mine came out hard as rocks.  I won't blame the recipe for that entirely, but rather the size of my cookies.  (Consider the source.  The original version is huge; mine were probably half the size, but what I would consider "normal" cookie size.)  But the recipe still wasn't very good, for a number of reasons.  A big one was they didn't taste like ginger!  Perhaps my ginger isn't up to snuff (it was a new bag, but a different brand), but the dough tasted like cinnamon, not ginger, so I added a little more.  And then a little more.  And then a little more....  I'm really not sure how much I added in the end, and they still tasted a little bland.  (A single teaspoon in all that flour tells me it wasn't my ginger.)  Increasing the salt a bit helped.  But I have a better recipe for this type of cookie from Bon Appétit -- I should have used it.

I made half the recipe.  Did I not reduce the butter quantity?  Is that why I had so much trouble?  Seems to me that would have produced more disastrous results, or more delicious cookies.  I'll never know.

The half recipe yielded about 2½ dozen moderate-sized cookies.

Here's what I used:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 2½ teaspoons (at least) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute.  On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.  Refrigerate the dough until firm, 1-2 hours.  Pour the turbinado sugar into a small bowl.  Roll 2 tablespoons (I used about 1+ tablespoon) of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

This dough was extremely soft.  There was no way I could roll balls of it.  I had to refrigerate it and then work quickly, as it kept softening on me.  I've added direction to refrigerate the dough.

These spread a LOT.  The original cookie has some thickness to it.  Obviously the quantity of dough made the difference there, as well as in the final texture.  On giving these cookies the touch test, it was like touching air.  The only reason I knew I had even made contact was because I heard a noise, and there was a dent left behind.  So because the directions state they should "feel firm", I determined the cookies were not yet done and baked them another minute.  Realizing that was producing hard cookies, I baked the next batch for a minute or two less, but they were still hard.  I suppose I should have taken them out of the oven while they still seemed underbaked.  Or just made them the size called for.

In an attempt to give them a better texture, I stored them for a day with a couple slices of apple.  The result was they actually ended up tasting like apple!  But that doesn't say much for the strength of the ginger and molasses flavors.

Conclusion:  These were okay with my modifications, but why bother?  There are a lot of better ginger cookie recipes out there to use.  I do like the use of turbinado sugar rather than coarse sugar (which is what traditionally might have been used, until raw sugar became a household item).  It's much softer and doesn't give that hard crunch, which I never liked.

Recipe:  Sugar Crusted Ginger Chewies via Joy the Baker, originally from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans

Pebernødder ("Pepper Nuts")

These aren't the most spectacular looking cookie, but they're a Danish tradition and they sounded tasty.  Most importantly, they're simple to make!

The originator wasn't too fond of this recipe because she doesn't like white pepper.  While these were baking, the kitchen smelled strongly of the pepper, but in the end result it is not especially noticeable.  In fact, no spice stands out more than the others -- it's very nicely balanced.  Despite all the spices, I would not call this a spice cookie.  The flavor is delicate -- it's more like a lightly spiced butter cookie.  They remind me of the Land O' Lakes ginger stars, which I'll have to make again some day.

Did I add salt?  Now I can't remember.

Here's what I used:

125 grams salted butter, at room temperature (4 3/8 ounces)
125 grams dark brown sugar (4 1/4 ounces)
1/2 deciliter heavy whipping cream (1.7 ounces)
250 grams all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).  Beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Add cream and beat until combined. Sift together flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Place dough onto lightly floured working surface and knead briefly.  Working with a handful of dough at a time (determined by the amount of counter space you have) but no more than 1/4 of the recipe, roll the dough out into logs the size of your middle finger. Cut logs into 1 centimeter (0.4-inch) pieces and place about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes or until light brown. Let cool on baking sheets before storing in an airtight container.

This dough was a pleasure to work with, but it will get very soft in a warm room.  I recommend keeping the bulk of the dough in the refrigerator while you're rolling and cutting.  I rolled mine a little small, so they baked up faster and are perhaps a bit darker than they should be, but they were fine nonetheless.  The recipe sounds time-consuming, but these come together much faster than you would guess.

Conclusion:  These were great, and tasted better a couple days later after the flavors had blended some.  Too easy to eat like popcorn.  If you are inclined, they are great spread with a tiny bit of honey-sweetened chèvre cheese.

Recipe:  Danish Pebernødder with Pepper via My Danish Kitchen

Romkugler (Danish rum balls)

I made rum balls (did they actually have rum?) once as a very young child.  I remember being confused where the recipe called for "vanilla wafers" -- did they mean Nabisco 'Nilla Wafers (yes) or those rice paper things layered with sweet icing?  And I remember struggling mightily to stir the stiff dough into uniformity.  That alone intimidated me from ever making them again.  And the results were extremely sweet, even for a child.  

Fast forward to today, to the grown up me with more muscle power but, more importantly, modern appliances.  And a recipe that sounded infinitely more interesting than anything calling for 'Nilla Wafers.  (Much to my dismay, it seems that the blog that is the source for this recipe is now defunct.  You can find her posts on Pinterest, but they no longer link to a recipe.  Too bad -- it was a nice blog.)

These came together quickly and were very easy to make.  Another nice feature is that you can adjust the flavor to your liking during the mixing.  I found them, surprisingly, not sweet enough, so threw in a little more sugar.  I also upped the salt, as Europeans typically barely salt sweet items.

Yield:  20-28 balls.

Here's what I used:

125g rolled oats
75g light muscovado brown sugar + 2 tablespoons
50g finely-shredded, desiccated coconut, plus additional for coating
4 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
4 tablespoons rum
50g butter
4 tablespoons strong coffee or espresso
1 heaping teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz to a paste.  Adjust the flavor to your liking.  Tip mixture onto a  sheet of waxed paper and roll into a thick log, about 1.5" in diameter.  Wrap tightly and place in refrigerator for several hours until firm.  When ready to make the rum balls, cut the log lengthwise into quarters.  This will allow you to easily cut off equal portions of the dough to make your preferred ball size.  Roll a portion between your palms into a ball, then roll in the coconut.  Store in an airtight container in a cool location, or refrigerate for longer storage.  (These will soften considerably at room temperature.)

The original recipe didn't call for refrigerating the dough, but I found it less sticky that way.  I didn't add extra water to make up for the missing liquid coffee, but the dough was fine as it was.  I think it would have been very tricky to work with otherwise, although perhaps the oats would have soaked it up quickly.  As it was, the oats were a bit tough initially, but they softened after a day and these were better then.  Best stored in the refrigerator.  They will lose some of their rum impact over time.

Conclusion:  These were good with a nice strong rum and semi-sweet chocolate flavor.

Recipe:  "Romkugler" via Heike Myers for Les Gateaux Celestes (previously Heavenly Cakes on blogspot.)

Maple Walnut Pinwheels

These were the first cookies of the season, as they had to go to far and away places, and the most fancy I was going to be able to pull off this year.  Pinwheel cookies of any flavor are one of the easier Christmas cookies to make, but they do require a little finessing, and definitely time in the refrigerator.

The instructions are very precise about measuring the flour by volume, provided you have a U.S. measuring cup.  I didn't notice that the original recipe gave the weight measure for the flour, so I weighed my results:  338 grams.  However, 12.75 ounces converts to 361 grams mathematically -- that difference of 23 grams equals about 3 tablespoons.  Whatever, they're just cookies.  I'm sure the usual scoop-and-level measuring method would work fine.  Don't overthink it (which, actually, I just did.)

The instructions do not call for refrigerating the dough prior to rolling it out.  So I didn't refrigerate the first roll and, while workable, it was pretty soft and the final roll just flopped all over the place.  It was hard to get it to lay nicely in the refrigerator to make an even log for slicing, and the bottom flattened.  I refrigerated the second half of the dough overnight; this was much easier to handle, but was very stiff and I couldn't get the ends of the roll to adhere nicely.  The best option, if you have the time, is to refrigerate just until firm, or if hard then allow to warm slightly before rolling out.  If you must roll out the dough immediately and while soft, be sure to flour the surfaces and your rolling pin.

I was a little frustrated by the directions to cover these pretty pinwheels with frosting.  For one thing, generally cookies don't need frosting, especially a thick dollop.  If you're going to frost a cookie, it's usually for decoration.  But why cover up what's already a pretty cookie?  I thought I would just drizzle the frosting across the tops, but it was too gelatinous for that due to the butter.  (It's really a hard sauce, not frosting.)  So I opted for reducing the quantity by half and spreading just a thin layer across the bottoms.  The cookies were fine without any frosting at all, but slightly plain.  (The maple flavor is not very prominent.)  The frosting gave them just a little zing.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Here's what I used:

For the nut filling:
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk

For the dough:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour (12.75 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the maple frosting:
4 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1 tablespoon maple or sugar syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
pinch salt
1 1/2 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Place walnuts and raisins in food processor or blender and grind very finely - almost to paste. Pulse in maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, salt and egg yolk; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar together until smooth; blend in egg and vanilla. To measure flour, gently spoon into measuring cup and level off with knife. Sift together the flour with baking powder and salt; gradually blend into batter just until smooth dough is formed. Divide dough in half, press each half into an even square no more than an inch thick, wrap securely, and refrigerate an hour or two until firm.  (If refrigerating longer, allow to warm slightly, just until malleable, before rolling out.)  On a sheet of waxed paper or other flexible rolling surface, roll one half portion out to a 10-inch square.  Spread half of nut filling over dough to within ½-inch of top edge, but right to the edge on the other 3 sides. Beginning with side nearest you, roll dough up, lifting waxed paper and folding over the edge to start roll.  Use even but easy pressure -- just enough to exclude any air pockets, but not enough to force the filling out of place.  Seal seam, and repeat with remaining dough and filling. Wrap rolls in plastic or waxed paper and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. (Rolls may also be wrapped well and frozen and thawed in refrigerator before baking.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice cold rolls into 3/8-inch slices.  Reshape each slice as necessary to make a nice circle, then check front and back to see which side is prettier.  Place best side up, 1 inch apart on baking sheets.  Bake about 10 minutes until set and bottoms begin to turn golden. Let cookies stand on sheet 1 minute before removing to wire rack to cool.

For the frosting, mix melted butter, maple syrup, maple extract (if using), salt and powdered sugar and stir until smooth. If frosting becomes too thick upon standing, add 1/2 teaspoon warm water at a time to desired consistency. Spread thinly across the bottom of each cooled cookie. Allow frosting to set before stacking; store covered.

I had trouble getting the raisins to fully chop and incorporate, and so ended up with some large pieces that show as dark spots.  I'm not sure what purpose they serve in the mix -- perhaps just to add a little "goo" to help hold the nut mixture together.  A substitute might be in order.  These cookies tasted like they were a cream cheese base -- very rich.  They were not very sturdy, breaking along the swirl lines with the slightest pressure.  I think the cookie part absorbs some of the moisture from the filling and they become less crisp, but still delicious, after a day or so.




Conclusion:  This was a great cookie.  I'm not sure I would make it again in this incarnation, but the dough might replace my go-to sugar cookie recipe.  It was very tasty, but a little fragile.  I'll have to test how it holds up to cutouts and decorations.

Recipe:  Maple Nut Pinwheels via Go Bold with Butter

Martha's Boozy Fruitcake

I'm trying a new fruitcake recipe this year.  The one I usually make -- my own creation -- is complicated and time-consuming; I just wasn't up for it.  This one has a lot of booze, which, of course, is the real reason why anyone eats fruitcake, and goes together fairly easily.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it could be even easier than the creator makes it.  For example, why is the cocoa mixed with water separately?  And why mix that and the molasses into the batter after the flour?  Why not mix the cocoa and the molasses with the butter/eggs?  And what's with all the folding?  It's not like we have whipped egg whites we're trying not to deflate.  The results were quite wet, which further makes me question the water with the cocoa.  There's a LOT of liquid in this recipe, and not a lot of flour.

The original recipe is HUGE -- it makes 4 cakes! -- so I cut it down by one quarter.  As usual, I put my own stamp on the recipe.  For one thing, there wasn't so much as a grain of salt, so I added some.  Also, I didn't think 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg was too much to ask of one cake, especially considering that they have to compete with all that fruit, the cocoa, and the liquor, so I left them at their original quantities.  (Yes, my friends, that means 4 TIMES the original recipe!)  And I question the tiny quantity of almonds.

I started the fruit macerating on October 25, then mixed up the recipe and baked it on November 11.  After cooking and brushing with Myers rum, I kept the loaves tightly wrapped in a cool room over the next six weeks, brushing them once a week with additional Myers rum.

My changes in quantities from an exact 1/4 reduction are shown in italics.  Here's what I used:

1/4 pound pitted prunes
1/4 pound dark raisins
1/4 pound dried currants
1/4 pound dried tart cherries
3/4 ounce (2 tablespoons) candied citrus peel (orange, lemon, and grapefruit)
3/4 ounce (2 tablespoons) candied ginger
3/4 cup dark rum, plus more for brushing cakes
3/4 cup ruby port

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon boiling water
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce blanched almonds almond flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons packed dark-brown granulated sugar
2.5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Confectioners' sugar

At least 2 weeks before you plan to bake the cakes, place prunes, raisins, currants, cherries, citrus peel, candied ginger, rum, and port in a container with a lid; shake or stir once a day.

When ready to bake the cakes, preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly grease your pan(s), line with parchment, then grease the parchment and set aside. (I used one 8"x4" loaf, one 6.5"x3.5" loaf, and one 4.75"x2.75" mini loaf.)   In a small bowl, whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth; set aside.  (This is where I recommend incorporating the cocoa into the butter/sugar mixture and leaving out the water.)

Transfer fruit mixture to the bowl of a food processor along with the almond flour (or ground almonds.)  Process until a chunky paste forms, about 1 minute.  (You can leave the mix chunkier if you prefer.)  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the molasses and vanilla.  (Add the cocoa dry at this point.)  Add the eggs, one at a time, being sure to scrape sides of bowl occasionally, then beat in the cocoa mixture.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix, starting on a low speed, until well-blended.  Stir in the fruit until completely combined.

Ready for the oven.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until cakes are firm on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 3 hours.   (The small pan was ready at 2.5 hours; the medium at 3.25 hours; and the large at 4.5 hours.)  Remove from oven and immediately brush tops of cakes with rum. Let cakes cool completely in the pans.  When cool, remove from pans and brush with additional rum. Wrap cakes in cheesecloth, a clean dish towel, or sturdy paper towels, and then in aluminum foil. Let stand at room temperature at least 3 days before serving, and up to 1 month. If storing more than a week, brush cakes with additional rum once a week.   If desired, decorate cakes dusted with confectioners' sugar or frosted with royal icing.


I must say, I am disappointed in the presentation of this recipe as originally written.  Martha's standards are slipping.  It turns out the creator of this recipe, Melissa Clark, is a food writer -- not a chef, or a cook, or a baker.  She worked as a caterer out of her apartment "briefly".  (How long is "briefly"?)  How she's managed to become a successful cookbook author is beyond me, because she has little experience in creating recipes or, it appears, even in preparing them.  I saw no logical order to the ingredients, and her directions are just as convoluted.  I don't think she has any idea why she does what she does other than it worked.  Except it doesn't.

I suspected the batter was too wet, and the cakes did fall a little after coming out of the oven.  The final results were too moist despite the long bake, resembling a "cake" only in the most general sense of the word, i.e. "something that is shaped like a rectangular block."  The flavor was flat, homogeneous, and indistinct.  I tasted no spices.  I miss the crunch of nuts, and the occasional chunk of fruit.  I miss the myriad flavors and textures that emerge and retreat and that are the fruitcake experience.  And for all the booze, I miss the sense I'm eating a booze-soaked confection.  I did taste the chocolate, in a cool, dark sort of way.  Thank goodness I added salt -- at least there was SOME sense of zest, although it could have used a touch more.

Here's another thing...  If you listen to the video, am I mistaken or did I hear Martha tell Melissa that a whole nutmeg equals 1/2 teaspoon?  What?!  I think Martha's been sampling too much of that macerated fruit.  (She does seem to slur a lot.)

Conclusion:  I wouldn't classify this as a fail, but anyone expecting fruitcake will be disappointed.  It's very dense and smooth, fudgy even.  Surprisingly, considering its density, it eats like a light dessert.  For one, it's not very sweet, which is nice.  But because nothing stands out, there is little impact on the tongue.  There's no visceral reaction; think instant pudding.  Or a prune.  It's like eating a prune.  The cake wasn't bad, just boring in both flavor and texture.  The uncooked fruit was very tasty, so there is promise here.  I'm thinking it might need to be wrapped in a very buttery crust.  Just a thought.

Original recipe:  Moist and Boozy Fruitcake with Rum and Port by Melissa Clark via Martha Stewart

Basic butter cake

Because there wasn't enough decadence already on the menu for the holidays, we had a retirement party at work for a co-worker and brought in more.  This was my contribution.  I needed something that would come together with minimal fuss.  This recipe  uses an unconventional mixing method, but it worked!  I did not beat the batter very long at all, just enough to mix well, due to her caution, but I saw later by her photos that she would have had me beat it longer, until it was fluffy. Whatever, it wasn't a problem.  The cake rose beautifully, done in just an hour, and was delightful.  I made a simple spiced fruit compote as a tangy side to the sweet, buttery cake.

Here's what I used:

3 cups cake flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 eggs, room temperature

Glaze
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer bowl combine the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix to combine.   Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla and almond extract and eggs. Mix well. Do not over beat, mix just until ingredients are combined, about three and a half minutes. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1- 1¼  hours or until cake tester comes out clean.  (Do not overbake!  Baking times depend on many factors so start testing for doneness after 50 min. Depending on pan size and oven variances, you could under or over bake.)  In the pan, pierce the hot cake with fork tines or a bamboo skewer. Pour half the glaze slowly over the cake.  Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a cake plate. Pour the remaining sauce over the cake.  Serve with fruit or ice cream.

Glaze:  Combine all the ingredients, except vanilla, in a sauce pan. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat . Stir in vanilla, set aside to slightly cool.





Conclusion:  This is a very good basic butter cake, very light.  I'm not sure about the almond flavoring -- seems like almond needs to be part of a bigger picture -- and I wasn't keen on the glaze.  The glaze crystallized (judging from the other photos, this was everyone's experience), became slightly chewy and was overly sweet.  It also wasn't very attractive.  But the cake is a versatile recipe; it would be good as a layer cake, in a Bacardi rum cake, or with just a plain bittersweet ganache.  It also could be flavored with spices, citrus, etc.  I will make this again, but in a different incarnation.


Cake recipe:  Bust Your Buttons Butter Cake by Angela Gray for Just a Pinch.
Original compote recipe:   Spiced cranberry sauce via Taste of Home, with added mixed berries and apple.

Sicilian Buccellato

It's not often I get the opportunity to make something as ornate and large as this.  Our office holiday party was yesterday and I thought it would be just the thing.  It did take quite a bit of work and time, but it was the construction mainly that appealed to me.  I enjoy the hand work.

What I used.

Traditionally, buccellatos are decorated with a special tool called a pinza per buccellato, appropriately enough.   A pair of hotdog tongs worked nicely.

 

   What you're supposed to use.

The only real challenge to making this is its size and weight.  You don't want to have to move it any more than necessary.  I thought I was being tricky by baking it on parchment paper; I shaped it on the paper, and then just slid the paper and pastry easily onto the baking sheet.  The problem arose when I was trying to remove the parchment from under the baked pastry.  It took two hands -- and I could have used a third -- to lift the ring without breaking it, and then I needed still another to pull the paper off the bottom of the ring.  In the end, I did break the ring a little, but due to the deep indentations of the design, the breaks were easily disguised.  I recommend moving the ring as little as possible:  shape it on the baking sheet, and after baking slide it straight from the sheet onto the cutting board or serving platter.   Whatever you serve it on, it should be sturdy and able to take cuts from a sharp knife.  This is a substantial loaf!

Some buccellato recipes call for chopping the filling mixture in a food processor until it is chopped fine.  Chopping by hand produces larger, uneven pieces of fruit and nut, particularly the citrus peel.  It takes longer, but gives a nicer texture.  I highly recommend using a high-quality dark chocolate.  I used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips, and they were the low point in the dessert.

Here's what I used:

For the filling
500g (17 oz.) dried figs, chopped
250g (8.5 oz.) apricot or fig jam
100g (3.5 oz) almonds, chopped
100g (3.5 oz) hazelnuts, chopped
50g walnuts (1.75 oz), chopped
50g pistachios (1.75 oz), chopped
200g candied cherries, chopped
100g (3.5 oz) raisins
100g (3.5 oz) candied orange zests, chopped
100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon clove powder
1 espresso shot
100ml (3.5 oz) Marsala or Muscat wine
125g (4.4 oz) honey

For the dough
500g (17 oz) flour
150g (5.25 oz) sugar
200g (7 oz) lard
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon honey
8g (a little more than 1/4 oz) ammonium bicarbonate (or baking soda)

For the glaze and the decoration
3 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
Candied cherries
Pistachios, ground

Start by preparing the filling.  Best to do this the day before so it can cool down completely, and because it's time-consuming. 

Toast and roughly chop/crush all the nuts.  Chop the dried figs and candied fruits. Put all the ingredients (apart from the chocolate) in a pot over low heat and let it cook on a slow fire for 5 minutes.  Stir well.  Allow to cool completely, then add the chocolate.  Stir well and set aside.

For the dough, put all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with a hook attachment and knead for 5 minutes, or until you obtain a smooth and pliable dough.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Take the dough out and roll it into a rectangle 15 cm x 30 cm.  Make a log out of the filling and put it in the center of the rectangle.  Bring the sides of the dough up and over the filling, overlapping slightly; press to seal.  Gently transfer the log, seam side down, onto a baking sheet.  Bring the ends together to form a ring and close the joint by pressing with your fingers.

To decorate, go around the cake four times with hotdog tongs to create a zigzag pattern of angled pinches close together.  Make longer pinches by placing two pinches side-by-side, as shown.  With each pass, angle the pinch in the opposite direction.   (You can also use a fork by digging and slightly dragging it into the dough.)  Refrigerate the buccellato for 1 day BEFORE baking it.

The following day, pre-heat the oven to 390°F.  Bake the buccellato for 35 – 45 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool completely.

In the meantime, prepare the glaze by simmering all the ingredients for 5 minutes.  Brush the cold buccellato with the hot glaze.  Decorate with candied cherries and ground pistachios.

This was very challenging, and interesting.  It wasn't as good as I'd hoped, although I got compliments on it and it was almost entirely consumed.  It's one of those things you learn and perfect by doing, year after year.  The filling might benefit from being made well in advance and being allowed to ripen, if it won't go bad.  The dough was VERY soft; the pinches did not stay deeply pronounced but were still very visible.  (The softening smoothed out most of my clumsy design work.)  It was also huge – 14" in diameter and several pounds.

 

Conclusion:  This was very European-tasting. It was impressive, but more trouble and expense
than it was worth.   Very rich and sweet, it might have benefited from some ice cream to cut the intensity.  If I made it again (unlikely), I would make the pastry barely sweet so it contrasted with the filling.  I might also use all butter, as the pastry wasn't very tasty.  (That rhymes.)  I'd probably play with the filling flavoring a little more as well.  One teaspoon of vanilla?  I doubt that made any difference.  A little anise might have been nice, though, a little more salt, and perhaps a stronger booze.     

Recipe:  Buccellato via Manu's Menu, also referencing this recipe at Cooking with Rosetta.

December ABC challenge: Whole Wheat Mocha Eclairs with Espresso Rum Filling

Shortly before seeing this month's challenge, I happened to watch this video of an old British TV show.  Can't Cook, Won't Cook was a UK game show and cooking program that was broadcast on BBC1 on weekday mornings from 1995 to 2000.  This episode, hosted by Kevin Woodford, featured two middle-aged rockers (Kelly Groucutt and Roy Wood, both of Electric Light Orchestra fame) competing over Tia Maria éclairs and judged by their teenage daughters.  (Let the hilarity begin!)  I decided to use the same flavors for this challenge.

Choux pastry doesn't keep well, so I reduced the recipe by 1/4, which should have made only 3 éclairs.  I wasn't sure what size to pipe them, and after piping 3 I had a lot of batter left, so I ran down each one again.  I still had enough batter left to make a small puff.  Because the éclairs ended up fairly large, I was concerned about having enough filling.  To extend and lighten the filling, I added some rum-infused whipped cream.

Here's what I used.  Deviations from 1/4 of the original recipe are shown in strikeout and italics:

For the coffee pastry cream:
3/4 cup whole milk, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1/16 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
2 teaspoons Myers rum (optional)

In a small saucepan, stir together all but 2 tablespoons of the milk, the sugar, and the salt.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, flour, and egg yolk with the remaining 2 tablespoons milk.  Whisk some of the hot milk mixture with the egg yolk to temper it.  Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the remaining simmering milk. Doing this through a strainer will help prevent lumps later. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture thickens; remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and espresso powder until smooth.  Pour into a heat-safe bowl; rub a piece of butter over the surface of the cream, top with a piece of plastic wrap (make sure it touches the top of the pastry cream so it doesn't develop a skin), then refrigerate until cool.

When ready to serve, whip the cream until thick, then add the rum.  Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.  Fold gently into the cooled custard.

For the éclair pastry:
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons unbleached bread flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Combine the whole wheat and bread flours in a small bowl and set aside.  Place the water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat.  Remove from the heat and add the flours all at once; stir vigorously until well combined. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the dough forms a rough ball, about 15 to 30 seconds.  Remove the pan from the heat, transfer mixture to a mixing bowl (because you don't want to put eggs in a hot pan), and let cool for a few minutes until still quite warm, but not hot enough to cook the egg.   (Since this is a small amount, it will cool in just a few minutes, especially if you spread it around.)  Beat in the egg a portion at a time, in 3 or 4 installments. Each portion should be fully incorporated before the next is added. Beat for 2 minutes after adding the last bit of egg.  The dough will be thick and sticky.

 

Ready for the oven.

  

Pipe the dough into 3 4"-long (and about 1.5"-wide) strips onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (I used an insulated one) and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F.  Reduce the heat to 375° and bake for 15 more minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and, using a sharp paring knife, make a small slit near the top of each to let the steam out. Return the éclairs to the oven, turn the oven off, and prop the oven door open slightly.  Let the éclairs cool inside for 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Cooling.

For the ganache:
1¹/₂ ounces chopped semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon sugar syrup

Put all the ingredients in a heat-safe bowl.  Heat gently and stir until the chocolate melts and the icing is smooth.

To assemble, slice each éclair in half horizontally with a very sharp knife.  Spoon 1/3 of the filling into the bottom half, then replace the top.  Spoon or drizzle chocolate ganache over the éclairs and allow to drip down the sides. Serve immediately.

Conclusion:  Someone come take the fork away!  I might just sit and eat the whole batch.  Delicious, decadent, and richly flavored.  They taste very naughty.  I'm not sure the whole wheat  goodness counteracts the badness involved here.  Anyway, no one would know there was whole wheat involved.

Original pastry cream recipe:  Pastry Cream via King Arthur Flour
Original pastry recipe: Whole Grain Cream Puff Pastry via King Arthur Flour
Original glaze recipe:  Icing via King Arthur Flour