Chocolate, Pecan and Orange Babka

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Things to Bake. And there are many many things to bake in this world. Usually I just land up baking the tried and tested, because I don't have time for untried and untested.
 But sometimes I do.
 For last weeks class, I made  chocolate and raspberry panna cotta.
The plan B if those weren't a success was this chocolate babka - a recipe that I'd pinned a while back.

So, I'm sorry last-week's-ladies ... if you'd rejected the panna cotta, you'd have had the opportunity to sample this instead.
And you really should try it - I don't care who you are or where you live - you need chocolate babka in your life. (Unless you're gluten intolerant. Then you definitely don't. And there isn't a gluten-free version. Sorry!)
You'll just have to bake it yourselves. But I'm going to help.

So here's the original recipe...

http://milk-and.blogspot.com/2015/10/chocolate-hazelnut-cinnamon-babka.html

 I just changed a couple of things - replacing hazelnuts with pecans, and adding some orange zest. Because dark chocolate and orange in a loaf together are beyond delicious.

Chocolate, Pecan and Orange Babka

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 sachet instant dried yeast
320g white bread flour
40g caster sugar
1pinch salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
80ml lukewarm milk
90g butter, cut into cubes


Chocolate  Filling:

100g  butter
180g caster sugar
80g dark chocolate, chopped
40g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
100g chopped pecan nuts 
zest of one medium orange (squeeze out the juice after zesting, you'll use it for the syrup below.)

Sugar Syrup:

50ml water 
50ml orange juice
100g caster sugar


Method:

Dough:

Place the flour, dried yeast, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix briefly to combine the ingredients. 
Heat the milk until just lukewarm. Add the cubed butter into the milk so that it softens slightly. 
Pour the milk and beaten egg into the flour mixture. 
Knead with the dough hook  on low speed until the dough is smooth. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. 

Filling:

Melt the butter and chocolate together. Mix in the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and orange zest. Set aside. 

Sugar Syrup:

Place the ingredients together in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

Assembly:

Grease and line a large loaf pan with baking paper. 
Punch down the risen dough. 


Place on lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle, approximately 50cm x 30cm.  
Spread the filling over the dough, all the way to the edge. (If the filling has set, microwave / heat it briefly so that it is easy to spread.)
Sprinkle with the pecan nuts. Starting from the long edge, roll up tightly into a long sausage. 
Slice down the length of the dough. Twist the two strands over each other making a large plait.  

Fold the plait in half - bringing the two ends next to each other. Place it into the prepared pan.  
Cover with cling wrap and leave to rise in a warm spot until risen, approx 1 hr. 

Preheat the oven to 180'C, thermofan on.  

Discard the cling wrap,  and bake the babka for approximately 30minutes, until the dough is a light golden colour. 

Remove from the oven and pour the syrup over the hot loaf.  (Do not omit this step, it adds moisture and flavour to the finished product). 

Leave to cool completely in the loaf tin before serving. 

Why stop at one slice when you can have two?!

Happy baking!

xxM 

Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta

My mother was from a generation when you had to own a cheese platter and a punch bowl if you entertained. 

Cheese platters have been replaced by beautiful organic cheese boards, but if a flat, round, frosted glass plate came to mind when I first mentioned  "cheese platter" - you're probably a child of the 70's like me!  

So, when was the last time you had punch out of a punch bowl?!  At a retro party perhaps. Although, "retro" now means 80's, doesn't it - we'll have to start saying vintage parties to mean the 70's! 

Anyway... the point is, if you've had a beautiful glass punch bowl handed down to you - use it:  the cups make great dessert bowls!

Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta 

Depending on the portion sizes you're serving, you'll need 10-12 glasses or small jars.  

These punch cups are 120ml volume. 

 For the tilted effect, place the glasses / jars in a muffin tray with a little bit of kitchen towel supporting them. 

Use a small measuring cup to get equal volumes into the glasses (1/4 cup measure, is what I used. But it’ll depend on the size of your glasses). 

Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta Layer 

1 sachet gelatin powder (10g) 

120ml full cream milk

80g caster sugar

Pinch salt 

200 ml full cream milk 

200ml cream (heavy/ whipping cream - 35% fat content) 

200g dark / semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

20g cocoa powder 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Pour 120ml milk into a small saucepan. Sprinkle in the gelatin powder. Stir. 

Leave to sit for 10 minutes. 

Heat together the cream, milk and dark chocolate.  (Use another saucepan over low heat, or microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.) Heat until the chocolate has melted. 

Pour out about 1/4 cup (60ml), and stir the cocoa powder into this to make a paste. 

Return the paste to the chocolate/ milk and cream mixture. Stir well. Add in the vanilla. 

Add the sugar and salt to the gelatin ⁄ milk in the saucepan. 

Heat gently, until the sugar and gelatin have dissolved. Do not overheat, the milk should only be lukewarm! 

Pour the chocolate mixture into the gelatin mixture. Stir well. 

Pour into the prepared glasses or jars. 

Place in the fridge until set. (1 hour) 

Only prepare the next layer once the chocolate layer has set.  
In the meantime, make the raspberry reduction** 

For the raspberry panna cotta, use a homemade raspberry reduction**, or a good quality raspberry preserve. Another alternative is to simply puree fresh raspberries. But I'd still be inclined to add a little sugar to the puree, and simmer on the stove until some of the liquid evaporates (in other words - make a reduction!)

**Raspberry Reduction:

350g frozen raspberries 

100g caster sugar 

Simmer in a small saucepan until thickened / reduced.  

Raspberry Panna Cotta Layer 

1 sachet gelatin powder (10g) 

120ml full cream milk

80g caster sugar

Pinch salt 

200 ml full cream milk 

200ml cream (heavy/ whipping cream - 35% fat content) 

260g raspberry reduction **

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Pour 120ml milk into a small saucepan. Sprinkle in the gelatin powder. Stir. 

Leave to sit for 10 minutes. 

Heat together the heavy cream and milk . Use another saucepan over low heat, or microwave. 

Add in the vanilla and raspberry reduction. Stir well. 

Add the sugar and salt to the gelatin saucepan. 

Heat gently, until the sugar and gelatin have dissolved. Do not overheat! 

Pour the raspberry/ cream / milk mixture into the gelatin mixture. Stir well. 

Pour into the glasses once the chocolate layer has set. 

Place in the fridge until set completely. 

Serve each with a swirl of whipped cream, and a fresh raspberry.
If you're all out of fresh raspberries like I was , have a look at my Instagram page to see how I made these modelling chocolate ones.

Happy baking and creating!

xxM 

Liquorice Allsorts Cake

Great news, guys - my daughter has decided (all on her own accord - not even one hint from me!), that she'd like a movie party for her next birthday. So I'll get a chance to make a popcorn cake, after all!

I've also always wanted to make a cake with liquorice all sorts. And this non-party of Jack's was the perfect opportunity, considering it was a non-themed celebration. 

If you recall, I'd put Friday morning aside to decorate the cake. But then  I had to spend that time making replacement cookies, instead. 

As a result, putting this together was a bit more rushed than I'd have liked. Especially considering I had just started placing all the candies when I got called to an emergency caesar, and then while I was at the hospital, another emergency caesarean was booked. 

Be warned - if I have a birthday cake to decorate, someone in Hillcrest Hospital is going to be have an emergency caesar 🙈

A couple of notes on constructing this cake:

 - I didn't use a number 1 pan, but simply cut out the strips from a square cake. 

- I used this recipe for the chocolate cake 

- I didn't, but should have, started with placing the candies along the edges, and worked inwards from there. (To create a neat outline, that's why!)

On the subject of the sweets:

-  cut diagonally through some of the liquorice allsorts to create triangles, to vary the shapes

- have both small and large candies; some sugar coated, some chocolates for textural interest; and some colour co-ordinated decorated cookies as focal points 

And, lastly,  something important that I learnt for the first time with this cake - liquorice and chocolate are an awesome combination!

Happy decorating!

xxM 

Bright Balloon and Star Cookies

...and these were the original birthday cookies. Bright and colourful, and not movie-themed.

Thank goodness I'd felt energetic, and had made a balloon and a star for each of the boys joining us for the movie. And a couple of extras... 

...because these are what got taken to school for class treats. There were exactly the right number for all the kids in the class. 

I had suggested that maybe I could do a quick batch of brownies or cupcakes instead, and keep these for the party (non-party) but nooo: "everyone  at school loves your biscuits, mom". What can you say to that?! 

That's why I spent Friday morning - the time I'd set aside to make the cake - making popcorn and cola cookies, instead. 

Here's a video of making the balloon cookies ... 

                                    

Enjoy!

xxM 

Popcorn and Cola Cookies

So here’s the story of these popcorn cookies, that I hadn’t intended to be make. 

My son’s birthday was on Sunday. He wasn’t supposed to have a party. 

I’ve told my two - I’ll give you parties until you’re 10; then after that, only at 13,  maybe 16, 18 and 21. But we’ll still do something with just a couple of friends to have a small celebration. 

The “something with a couple of friends” for Jack’s 11th birthday became movies with 10 boys 🙈

They were going to gather at our house first for cake, and then we'd transport them all to the cinema. And because they love the decorated cookies (and also because I'm a sucker for punishment), I made a couple of cookies for each of the boys. (Beginning to sound like a party, isn’t it?! ) 

There was no theme for this non-party; the cake was going to be bright, so the cookies were in that vein. 

Cookies all done; Friday was put aside to decorate the cake. Then Jack says to me on Thursday night (after sports practice, homework, supper…just before bed) “Mom, have you made cookies for me to take to school tomorrow?” 

I had planned on sending birthday treats in on Monday, which would give me Sunday to make them. No, no. He’d decided Friday was a much better idea. 

So, the cookies that I’d made for his non-party were taken off to school, and of course we needed replacements for Saturday. Just something simple, “but with a movie theme, Mom”. 

Well, here they are - simple, movie themed cookies: 

They are pretty simple actually - just two colours, a bit of airbrushing and painting. Really not very complicated….! 

I used a cupcake cutter for both the popcorn and the cola cookies. Just trimming a little for both. 

The video shows you the rest… 

In retrospect, I should have done a popcorn cake. But I didn’t. We’ll have to convince my daughter to have a movie party, so I get a chance at that. (Can’t wait to see how different a group of 10 x 10 year old girls behave compared to the boys!) 

Happy decorating!

xxM