October 2018 – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Apple Aniseed and Lemon Doughnuts

Posted on October 27, 2018 Posted in Doughnuts .

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

There are so many doughnut recipes in the world that vary in base ingredients as well as methods, shapes, sizes, flavours and filling types (if any). On top of this many counties have their own traditional doughnuts; the Dutch with (oliebollen), Mexico (churros), Middle East (awwami), France (beignet) and the list could go on and on.

Then there is the use of different core ingredients such as flour, potato, semolina, apple, ricotta, rice, cream cheese, milk powder just to name a few.

Then there is yeast or no yeast, dry or soaked, iced or filled, round or ring shaped….there must be thousands of varies all special to someone in the world.

As this is such an interesting sweet treat I decided to have a day of experimenting with traditional and new age (injection filled doughnuts), different key ingredients for ultimate fluffiness and interesting flavour combos to stay true to my passion of unusual but amazing tasting flavour pairings.

It will take me a long long long time to list all the experiments, suffice to say this recipe I’m posting is fluffier than a pancake and delicious in taste – you won’t stop at one! Though you do need to be an aniseed/star anise/fennel/licorice fan as I heavily feature aniseed for something delicious and different.

Ingredients:

Batter:

250ml milk
100g sugar
2 tsn yeast
1 apple (130g)
250g plain flour
250g self raising flour
1 tbsn ground aniseed
½ tsn aniseed essence
¼ tsn salt
80g butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 lemon

Extra:

Oil for frying
100ml ouzo liquor
100g sugar

Method:

Warm the milk to a luke warm temperature.
Add 15g sugar and the yeast to the milk and stir. Set mix aside in a warm place for 10 minutes to bubble and activate.
Meanwhile, peel the apple and grate it (a 130g apple will produce 110g grated apple), place into a bowl.
Add the flours in a bowl along with the ground aniseed, aniseed essence, salt, butter, eggs and 1 small lemons zest.
Place the flour mix bowl into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium until well combined.
Next pour the milk into the flour mix slowly in a stream, beating for 5 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside somewhere warm for 90 minutes to rise.
Place paper towel sheets onto a large plate for later use.
Place the 100g extra sugar into a shallow bowl.
Pour the oil into a saucepan and heat on medium on a stove top until 175c degrees is hit.
Oil 2 tbsn’s (to stop the batter sticking to the spoon) and spoon a large tbsn of batter into the frying oil, using the other spoon to scoop the mix into the saucepan.
Cook the doughnuts for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
Using tongs remove the doughnuts from the oil and place on the paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Following, using a pastry brush add the ouzo to a doughnuts on both sides.
Place the doughnuts into the sugar, ensuring even coating.
Repeat ouzo and sugar steps until all doughnuts are done.
Place doughnuts on a plate and enjoy!

PN: If you don’t have aniseed essence you can replace with an extra tbsn of ground aniseed. Ouzo can be replaced with Black Sambuca or any other aniseed/licorice flavoured liquor.

Step 2

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 4

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 5

Step 6

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 10

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 12

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 12

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 13

Apple Lemon and Aniseed Doughnuts recipe

Step 17

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls

Posted on October 20, 2018 Posted in Truffles .

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls recipe

This bake session was originally planned to experiment with salt and pepper apple crumble spiced oat balls that went through quite a number of iterations before I landed on the flavour combo of lavender, lemon and apple. This flavour mix was so tasty with the lemon and lavender flavours balanced to perfection. The texture though was not ideal and the flavour could have been stronger.

I had grated apples into the mix which took a lot of oats to absorb and dulled the flavours down a little too much.

So I attempted this same recipe again, this time squeezing the apple juice from the apple flesh and ‘bingo’ a significant reduction in the oats and biscuits allowed the flavour strength I was looking for.

These balls are delicious, super easy and take minutes to make with no oven required!

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls recipe

Ingredients:

400g malt biscuits
10g icing sugar
1 tsn ground lavender
1 tsn lemon zest
40g toasted oats
1 tsn psyllium husk powder
4 apples (130g each)

Coating:

10g brown sugar
20g toasted oats
10g walnuts
1/8^th tsn ground lavender

Method:

Peel the 4 apples with a vegetable peeler.
Grate the apples into a bowl.
Squeeze out the apple juice with both hands into a glass to drink later (yum)!
You should have 140g of squeezed apple flesh in total, place into a food processor.
Add the biscuits broken into pieces, the sugar, lavender, lemon zest, oats and psyllium husk into the food processor.
Pulse the mix until the large lumps have subsided, give it a little stir, then blitz again until well combine and smooth.
Knead the mix ( on a lightly floured surface if the mix is too sticky) on a bench to ensure no lumps then set mix aside in the fridge for 15 mins.
Meanwhile, make the coating by placing the sugar, oats, walnuts and lavender into the food processor until the mix resembles salt grains in size.
Place the mix into a shallow dish.
Roll the apple mix into balls of 25g each then roll each ball into the coating mix until well covered.
Place coated balls onto a plate and continue the process until all apple ball mix is used.
Place the plate in the fridge for 30 minutes minimum to fully set.
Enjoy!

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls recipe

Step 2

Step 7

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls recipe

Step 8

Lemon and Lavender Apple Balls recipe

Step 10

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Ravioli

Posted on October 13, 2018 Posted in Unique .

Cream Cheese Chocolate Ravioli

Out of all the sweet treats I have created over the years my favorite experimentation sessions are turning savory dishes into sweet. However, these type of baking ideas don’t come as frequently as thinking up unusual flavour combinations to experiment with.

I did the other day have ravioli filled with sweet pumpkin and maple syrup which got me thinking of sweet ravioli…chocolate pasta…chocolate ravioli…white chocolate cream cheese filled chocolate pasta ravioli…why not?

Not since my Green Tea and Pistachio Eclairs have I created a savory to sweet dish that is website worthy. Therefore, introducing my Cream Cheese Chocolate ravioli.

Ingredients:

165g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
Pinch salt
40g icing sugar
2 eggs, beaten
15ml olive oil

Filling:

110g white chocolate
170g cream cheese
15g icing sugar
1 egg

Extra:

1 tsn milk
1 tsn oil
30ml cream
40g white chocolate, melted
30g chocolate biscuit crumbs

Method:

Place the flour, cocoa, salt and sugar in a bowl, stir. Make a well in the centre then add the beaten eggs and oil.
Mix with your fingers and knead the dough until smooth, following place the dough in the fridge for 30mins.
Next make filling by whisking the cheese in with electric beaters in a bowl until smooth.
Place the white chocolate in a bowl under a bowl of water on the stove until the chocolate has melted.
Allow the chocolate to slight cool then add to the cheese with the icing sugar and egg and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Place the filling into a piping bag fitted with a circle nozzle.
Cut the pasta into 2 even pieces.
Roll out both pieces on a lightly floured surface until the dough is 3mm thick (or ideally use a pastry machine).
Brush a pasta sheet with the milk.
Pipe small 1 tsn dots of the cheese filling on to the pasta 4cm apart.
Place the second pasta sheet on top of the first and using a ravioli cutter or cookie cutter cut out the ravioli making sure the filling bump is in the middle of the cutter.
Place ravioli pieces on a floured surface and let them dry out for 30mins.
Bring a pot of water with 1 tsn of oil on the stove and bring to the boil.
Once boiling turn the temperature to a simmer and place the ravioli in the water, simmering gently for 5 mins (or until pasta is cooked).
Remove the ravioli with a slotted spatula/spoon and place pieces in serving bowls/plates.
Add the white chocolate to the cream and heat in the microwave on medium in 30 second busts, stirring in between each interval until smooth.
Serve by drizzling the chocolate cream over the ravioli pieces.
Scatter with the chocolate biscuit crumbs and enjoy.

Notes:

It is recommended to use a 5cm cookie cutter as making the ravioli to small will be difficult to seal the pasta.

Step 2

Step 8

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 14

Step 15

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Pretzel-base Caramel Apple Walnut and Pork Crackle Tart

Posted on October 6, 2018 Posted in Tarts .

Pretzel-base Caramel Apple Walnut and Pork Crackle Tart

Pretzel Based Caramel Apple Walnut and Pork Crackle Tart recipe

The idea for this recipe was all around combining the sweet, the salty, the sour and savoury.

As I had a bunch of apple left from a previous baking session I decided to use them up and have apples as a core sweet component of a dessert. I thought that if I made a salted caramel, in which would go brilliantly with the apple I could get some saltiness as well as the sweet. I’m also mindful that these 2 ingredients would make for a prefect tart filling.

So, if I was to make a tart then I needed a base. I figured since pretzels are basically flour and salt I could use these savory snacks as a base to my recipe, ticking the savory and salty box.

To not only ramp up the savory but also ensure some crunchy texture I opted for a few extra ingredients that also complement the apple flavour. After playing around with a few ingredients I decided that walnuts and pork crackle, when combine with the apple were too good of a combo to ignore.

Lastly, as I did want to have sour in the recipe in some way the only way this would work and add an extra depth to the flavour was through some lemon zest.

A lot of trial and error was had for this recipe, but in the end I’m impressed with the result. I successfully ticked the sweet, sour, salty and savory boxes as well as the tarts achieving deliciousness with a diverse range of textures, from crunchy, smooth and soft.

Pretzel Based Caramel Apple Walnut and Pork Crackle Tart recipe

Ingredients:

Base:

140g pretzels
110g butter
40ml honey

Caramel:

180ml cream
Pinch salt
50g butter
220g sugar

Apples:

5 apples (130g per apple will amount to 90g apple slices)
Pinch salt
40g brown sugar
1 tsn lemon zest
20g flour
50g walnuts, finely chopped
40g pork crackle, finely chopped

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees and grease 6 small tart pans with oil spray.
Process the pretzels, butter and honey in a food processor until the mix resembles breadcrumb texture.
Spoon 50g of filling into each tart case and pat the bottom and sides of the tart case with oiled fingertips until the whole tart case is covered with the mix.
Place the tart cases on a tray, poke with a fork in the centre lightly and bake in the oven for 8 minutes or until golden, set aside to cool.
Make the caramel by placing the sugar into a pan on high heat until the mix turns amber and bubbles.
Remove off the heat, pour in the cream, add the salt and the butter. Stir until well combine and silky smooth in texture.
Allow the caramel to sit for 10 minutes to cool then place half the caramel into a bowl and for the remaining pour into the bottom of the cooked tart cases.
Peel the apples and core them.
Cut the apples into quarters, then each quarter into 3 pieces lengthways.
Put the apple pieces in a bowl with a pitch of salt, the brown sugar, the lemon zest and flour. Stir until the apple is well coated and the mix is evenly distributed.
Place the bowl in the microwave on a medium heat, stopping and mixing in 60 second bursts until the apple is soft and the flour mix coats the apple well.
Add the remaining caramel to the apples and stir until well combine.
Place 40g walnuts and 30g of the pork crackle into the apple mix and stir until well combined.
Spoon the apple pieces over the caramel in a fan design, topping with the remaining caramel mix over the apples.
Place tarts on a tray and bake in the oven on 175c degrees, for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and top with remaining 10g walnuts and 10g pork crackle, leave aside until they have cooled to just warmer than room temperature.
Remove the tarts out of the tart casings and enjoy as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the top.