Millefeuille

From Bake, a neat recipe book divided by various regions of the world. This is obviously from the (very substantial) French section. The name means “thousand leaves”, and consists of layers of puff pastry between vanilla cream. Prep time is 1 ¾ hours, with 45 minutes cooking time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1kg / 2lb 4 oz puff-pastry
• Flour, for dusting

• Crème pâtissière:

– 2 tablespoons cornflour
– 125g / 4 ½ oz caster sugar
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 500ml / 18 fl oz milk
– 2 egg yolks

• Icing:

– 2 egg whites
– 350g / 12oz icing sugar
– 100g / 3 ½ plain chocolate, broken into pieces

METHOD:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Divide the pastry into 3 pieces on a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll out a piece to 5mm / ¼ in thick square. Transfer to the prepared tray, prick all over with a fork, then place another try on top to prevent the pastry rising.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the top tray, then return to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining pastry. Leave to cool, then cut each pastry square in half to make 2 rectangles.
• To make the crème pâtissière, put the cornflour, caster sugar and vanilla extract into a saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and egg yolks and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
• Place a piece of pastry on a wire rack, spread with one fifth of the crème pâtissière, then place another piece of pastry on top. Spread with another fifth of the crème pâtissière and top with another piece of pastry; repeat until you have used all of the crème pâtissière, then top with the final piece of pastry.
• To make the icing, put the egg whites and icing sugar into a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and beat with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until thick. Pour over the top piece of pastry.
• Melt the chocolate and pour into a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle, and use it to draw wavy lines on the icing.
• Using the tip of a knife, draw perpendicular lines through the chocolate, from top to bottom then alternating bottom to top. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges of the millefeuille.
• Cut the millefeuille into 12 rectangles, chill in the refrigerator and serve cold.

Buttercream

A master-post for my favourite buttercream frosting recipes.

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 ½ cups salted butter, softened
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 5 cups icing sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

Lemon Buttercream

• 1 cup salted butter
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cream

Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 3 ½ cups icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream

 

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream

• ½ cup shortening
• ½ cup margarine
• 3 ½ cups icing sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
• ¼ cup plain non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, soy, etc)

Vegan Lemon Buttercream

• 1 cup / 24g vegan butter, softened (I used Olivani)
• 3 cup / 360g powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons / 10ml lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 teaspoons / 9.5g lemon zest

Vegan Peanut Butter Buttercream

• ½ cup / 112g vegan butter, softened
• ¼ cup / 65g smooth peanut butter
• 3 cups / 360g icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons / 45ml non-dairy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tiramisu Cupcakes

I got this recipe off the delightfully delicious blog Sweets, Eats and Crafts. I recommend checking out the original post since it includes a photo tutorial, and because from there you can find other blog posts as equally fantastic!

NB: If you’re gluten-free, you can use a regular GF vanilla cupcake recipe for the base of these cupcakes, and add the coffee and buttercream to that. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 115 grams / 4 ounces butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup milk

• 1 cup coffee
• Chocolate shavings and cocoa powder for garnish

Buttercream:

• 85 grams / 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 225 grams / 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 2 cups icing sugar

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
• Combine flour and baking powder, and add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk until the batter is smooth.
• Pour or spoon batter in the prepared tin.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes for large cupcakes, or 20-25 minutes for small cupcakes (until a skewer comes out clean).
• While the cupcakes are baking, make the buttercream: Beat the butter and cheese with a mixer until light and creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth.
• Once the cupcakes are cool, use a fork and poke several holes in the cupcakes.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of warm coffee into each cupcake, making sure you get into all the holes. Brush the tops of each cupcake with coffee to coat any uncovered areas.
• Frost cupcakes with buttercream and sprinkle cocoa and chocolate on top

Vanilla Cupcakes (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Vanilla Cupcakes (Gluten-free, Dairy-free)

From Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. This recipe is great on its own, or you can use it as a base for designer cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 160g sugar
• 300g peeled and finely grated zucchini
• 180g white rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• Snow Meringue Icing, with a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and light, for at least five minutes.
• Whisk in the grated zucchini briefly to incorporate.
• Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. Sprinkle over half the dry ingredients with the egg mixture and whisk thoroughly for 20 seconds.
• Add the rest of the flour and the vanilla essence, whisking until well combined. Don’t be concerned if it’s runny – this is normal.
• Ladle the mixture into muffin tins lined with paper cases so they come four-fifths of the way up the sides. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• When the cupcakes are cooked, leave to cool on a wire rack before icing with Snow Meringue.

Ultimate Cake (Gluten-free Vegan Vanilla Cake)

I found this at veganbaking.net, submitted by Sugar Mama Bake Shop (itself host to a vegan baking site). I renamed it Ultimate Cake because I have friends and family with gluten, soy, dairy and/or egg allergies, so this recipe covers most bases! Unless specified, you do have to follow the ingredients quite specifically (e.g. coconut flour rather than dessicated coconut).

NB: If you are making it truly vegan, be careful that all the ingredients are “safe” (for example you may need to use organic cane sugar).

This recipe makes 12-14 cupcakes, two 7” round cakes, or one 9” cake.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup sorghum/jowar flour (or brown rice flour)
• ¾ cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (or guar gum)

• ½ cup plain coconut milk (or soy, almond, etc.)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or coconut, canola etc.)
• 1 Tablespoon good-quality vanilla
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F.
• Measure the non-dairy milk into a liquid measuring cup and add lemon juice. Set aside for now.
• Whisk together all dry ingredients.
• Add all liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with electric mixer until smooth.
• Grease a round cake pan or line a muffin tray with paper liners. Fill the pan or wrappers.
• If making a cake, bake for 30 minutes. If making cupcakes, bake for 15-20 minutes. The cake will be ready when it’s light brown on top, springs back when you press it lightly, or a skewer comes out clean.

Ice with a vegan buttercream.

Vegan Buttercream

This recipe makes a lot so you may want to halve it.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup nonhydrogenated shortening
• ½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine
• 3 ½ cups icing sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
• ¼ cup plain almond/coconut/soy milk (or other suitable alternative)

Method:

• Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy.
• Add the sugar and beat for about three more minutes.
• Add the vanilla and non-dairy milk and beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy.

Victoria Sponge

From Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. Typically of RV&CH, this cake is light, moist, and delicious. The cake itself is dairy-free, so if you know of a good cream substitute then you can use this to make a full dairy-free Victoria Sponge, or you can use just the cake for other recipes requiring sponge.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium eggs
• 150g caster sugar
• 200g peeled and finely grated potato
• 100g white rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Filling:

• 40g butter
• 90g icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon boiling water
• Seeds of one vanilla pod, or a teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 150g jam

• Caster sugar for dusting

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly oil the base and sides of the tins. Place a circle of baking parchment over the base of each one and lightly oil this too.
• Using an electric whisk, whip the eggs and sugar together until pale, fluffy and tripled in volume (at least five minutes). Hand-whisk in the grated potato, followed by the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla essence. Make sure everything is well combined.
• Pour the mixture evenly into the two tins and place in the oven for 20 minutes until the cakes are risen, golden and cooked all the way through.
• Unmould them on to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and set aside to cool for 20 minutes while you make the filling.
• To make the filling, whisk up the butter with an electric whisk until paste-like. Beat in the sugar one tablespoon at a time until it is all used up. Add the boiling water and whisk to combine. Add the vanilla seeds or essence, and beat again until fully incorporated.
• Ice the bottom of one of the cold cakes. Cover the other cake bottom with strawberry jam before sandwiching the two together and dusting the top with caster sugar.

Rice Pudding

Perfect for leftover rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 3 cups milk (or dairy-free substitute)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins or currants
• Spices to taste, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
• Walnuts for crunch if desired

Method:

• Add all ingredients to a saucepan except the spices and bring to the boil.
• Boil for a few minutes then lower heat to a simmer until most of the milk is absorbed.
• Once it’s at your desired consistency, add spices (and nuts if using).
• Serve hot or cold.

Sugar-free Apple and Frangipane Pie

 

From Have Your Cake, a recipe book of sugar-free, butter-free and white-flour-free baking. Yes it’s sugar-free, but I assure you it’s delicious.

Ingredients – pastry:

• 2 ½ cups wholemeal plain flour
• 2/3 cup (165ml) rice bran oil
• ¼ cup (75g) honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 vanilla bean seeds, or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons milk (or a dairy-free milk substitute)

Ingredients – filling:

• 3 cups (670g) cooked apples (fresh or tinned)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (125ml) rice bran oil
• ¼ cup (75g) honey
• ½ cup (55g) almond meal
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam

Method – pastry:

• Mix oil, honey and eggs together. Stir in vanilla and milk.
• Place flour in a bowl, make a well in the centre, and pour in the other ingredients. Gently mix with a blunt knife until a dough forms. If needed, place some flour on the bench and gently knead the dough until it comes together, then begin to roll out the pastry until it’s as thin as it can be without breaking.
• Grease a 24cm pie tin. Place the pastry over the tin and press it into the tin until the whole surface is covered with the pastry. With a knife or your fingers, break off excess pastry, setting it aside for the top of the pie. Use your fingers to join the pastry if it breaks. Make sure that there are no holes in the base, to prevent the filling from leaking.
• Place the tin in the fridge for 20 minutes, then blind bake for 10 minutes at 200°C/390°F by covering the pastry with baking paper and placing uncooked rice, macaroni or ceramic baking beans in the shell.
• After ten minutes remove the baking paper and beans and let the oven cool to 160°C/320°F before placing the tart or pie back in the oven for a further 10 minutes
• Fill pie while pastry is still hot to prevent the mixture leaking from the tart shell.

Method – filling:

• Prepare the filling while the pastry is cooking.
• To cook the apples, place the sliced apples in a saucepan with water. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, then drain well. If using tinned apples make sure it has no added sugar.
• To prepare the frangipane filling whisk egg, oil and honey in a bowl and mix in almond meal. Place in the fridge while the pastry is cooking.
• When the pastry is cooked, pour frangipane mix over the base of the pie and spread the cooked apples over the top.
• Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into strips to make a crisscross shape on top (don’t worry if they break when transferring to the top of the pie, just press them together again).
• Bake for 40 minutes at 160°C/320°F.
• Warm the apricot jam in a saucepan on a low heat and press through a strainer with a spoon to remove any lumps. Brush the top of the pie with the jam. Serve warm.

Sopapilla Cheesecake (Mexican custard square)

 Ingredients:

• 500g cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• 500g crescent roll dough (see note below)

• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (120g) butter
• Sliced almonds (optional)
• ¼ cup (90g) honey

Method:

• Beat the cream cheese with one cup of sugar and the vanilla essence until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 20x35cm baking dish.
• Halve the crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each half into 20x35cm rectangles (or to fit the tin). Press one piece into the bottom of the baking dish.
• Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture onto the dough, then cover with the remaining piece of dough.
• Stir together the ¾ cup of sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter. Spread the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkled with sliced almonds if desired.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the dough has puffed and turned golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completey in the pan before cutting into a dozen squares.

Crescent roll dough:

This can often be bought pre-made, and is found in the frozen pastry section of the supermarket. The first time I tried this recipe the supermarket didn’t have any, but they gave me 500g of frozen, uncooked crescent rolls. I left them to defrost overnight and used the dough. However, it’s not hard to make your own, including a gluten-free dough.