Two A Penny...Hot Cross Buns

It's been years since I've baked these seasonal treats, which is a shame since they are so delicious. A fairly rich yeast dough becomes even nicer with the addition of candied orange and lemon peel, currants, and raisins. There are some nice spices, too and shredded fresh lemon zest for zing. I made an icing cross for some of them by mixing a small amount of confectioners sugar and fresh lemon juice in a Ziploc bag, then cutting a tiny bit off the corner for the icing to go through. I made them Wednesday so that I could take some to friends. A gift of some of them to trainers at the gym on Thursday had no cross, but then liturgically, the cross was for Good Friday. Still time to make these for Easter if you start right away, but bake them any time for a nice little sweet roll with dried and candied fruit.

Hot Cross Buns
Makes 16 buns

3/4 cup warm (100° to 110°) whole milk (I used soy)
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Finely shredded zest of 1 large lemon
About 31/2 cups flour - I used 2 cups bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel(or candied lemon peel or candied citron) or 1/2 cup orange marmalade*
1/4 cup dried currants, plumped with a little boiling water if dry, then drained well
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons (about) fresh lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine milk and yeast; let stand until yeast softens, 5 to 10 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together the whole egg, brown sugar, cooled melted butter, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and orange or lemon zest. Add to the milk/yeast mixture and beat on medium speed with dough hook until blended.

2. Whisk the flours together in a bowl or large measuring cup if using more than one kind. Blend most of the cup flour into the batter. Beat on medium speed until dough is smooth and stretchy, 10 to 12 minutes, using dough hook. Add just enough additional flour, a tablespoon at a time, (about 1/4 cup) so dough is only slightly tacky.

3. Add orange peel and currants and raisins to the dough, pick up dough, and mix with your hands to distribute fruit.(I turned the dough out onto a lightly floured board and kneaded the dough in...that way I was sure that I had the dough well kneaded before adding the fruit and that the fruit was well distributed.)

Return dough to bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

4. Punch down dough. With floured hands, shape into 16 smooth rounds. (With all the fruit added it might be difficult to have a smooth top...just do the best you can.) Evenly space rounds in two buttered 8- or 9-in. square pans.

5. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place until doubled and puffy, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Brush buns with beaten egg (egg wash is optional). Bake until deep golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool in pans at least 30 minutes.

6. In a small bowl, stir together juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon into a small, heavy-gauge plastic bag, snip a hole in a corner, and squeeze icing onto buns to form large Xs.

Pumpkin Season Treats

Have you ever been to a kitchen cabinet party? I've never even heard of such a thing, but Sweetie suggested the concept to our neighbors who are putting together their new kitchen and they ran with the idea. On Saturday there were eleven or twelve people spread out in the to-be-kitchen area putting together various Ikea cabinets. Our hostess brought out the parts and we did the assembly. Sweetie and I started with one of the more difficult ones (of course), but eventually we had it together and, in the process, learned how to put together the drawers and to adjust drawers and doors, so we were able to help others.

You can't have a party without food. Our host cooked up sausages and hot dogs on the grill and there were lots of condiments and go-withs. I had brought some pumpkin pie bars since they could be eaten as finger food. They were a hit and when I told G that I was leaving any leftovers with them, he assured me that I would have disappointed everyone if I took them home. Fortunately, these bars are baked in a 9" x 13" pan, so there were a few at home in the fridge.

These great little bars are from Very Best Baking blog and they have a thin cookie crust and a filling that is basically a pumpkin pie custard filling. The topping is a combination of chopped pecans and brown sugar. I think if I did these again I would just sprinkle on the nuts...didn't really need that extra sugar.

I cut these into fairly small bars for the party, but there were a few more that didn't fit on the serving plate for the party, so Sweetie was happy to have them for a snack the next day...and they were cut in slightly larger bars. Either way works and these are a great seasonal treat.

Pumpkin Pie Bars
from Very Best Baking
12 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned or instant oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (I had a little extra pumpkin since I was using up leftovers from a larger can, so if you have more, add it. I added an extra 5 oz.)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
2 large eggs
2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE flour, oats, brown sugar and butter in small mixer bowl. Beat at low speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until crumbly. Press on bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

BAKE for 15 minutes.

COMBINE granulated sugar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs and pumpkin pie spice in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes; pour over crust.

BAKE for 20 minutes. Combine pecans and brown sugar in small bowl. Sprinkle pecan topping over filling. Continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Fuzzy Quince Cake

Well, the quince are fuzzy, not the cake, but, except for the fuzz, from a distance, you might think quince are pears.

But then you get closer to the golden globes and you see the fuzz and smell the amazing scent that ripe quince has...and you wonder if they taste as great as they smell. Be sure to cook them because raw quince are inedible.

So you make an upside down cake and use lots of peeled, cored, sliced quince for the fruit, with a handful of chopped pecans sprinkled around them at the bottom of a cast iron skillet on top of a butter-brown sugar mixture. Before the cake is finished baking in that pan, the whole house smells amazing! Quince, butter, brown sugar all lend their fragrance.

Finally the cake is turned out onto a large plate, a few quince slices that tried to stay in the pan are returned to the cake and slices are cut and plated. The moment of truth has almost arrived...except with that melted sugar a few moments are needed so we don't burn our mouths.

Bliss! The quince still have some firmness but are sweet and delectable and have almost a floral taste. They go really well with the pecans and the slightly crunchy caramelized brown sugar. The buttery soft cake is the perfect complement to those tastes and textures. And it was easier to make than quince jelly!

This is the season for quince, but they are not easy to find. I'm lucky to have a very old quince tree at the end of the drive. This year there were lots of quince, but I truly didn't have enough time to really make use of them. I suspect that this cake will be it for this year. Quince take a bit more effort to prepare than apples (even though the prepared quince slices look a lot like apple slices) but it was worth it.

I used David Lebovitz's recipe for the upside-down cake and there was the perfect fruit-cake ration as he promised. The only changes I made were I used quince and pecans instead of apricots or plums and berries. I bet they would be outstanding, too. Maybe next time.

Quince Pecan Upside Down Cake
based on a recipe by David Lebovitz 
One 10-inch (25cm) cake, 8-10 servings

David says, "You have some latitude with the fruits that you use. Just make sure that whatever you use covers the bottom in a substantial layer, around double-thickness, since the fruit will cook down while baking and settle nicely into place. Berries" (or nuts) "...are good nestled in the gaps between the slices of fruits."

For the fruit layer:
3 tablespoons butter (45g), salted or unsalted
3/4 cup packed (135g) light brown sugar
fruit: 4  medium quince, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
a handful of pecans, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)

For the cake layer:
8 tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature.
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125ml) whole milk, at room temperature

1. Melt the 3 tablespoons (45g) of butter in a cast iron skillet, or cake pan Add the brown sugar and cook while stirring, until the sugar is melted and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Once cool, arrange the fruit in a pinwheel design and put the rest over that in a second layer, then scatter the pecans over, letting some settle in the gaps between the quince slices. Set aside.

3. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350F. (190C)

4. Beat the 8 tablespoons 9115g) of butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape bowl and beaters a few times during this step.

5. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

6. Stir in half of the flour mixture, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix: stir just until the flour is barely incorporated into the batter.

7. Spread the batter over the fruit, then bake for 45 minutes to one hour (depending on the size of the pan, and the thickness of the batter.) The cake is ready when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center feels just set.

8. Remove from oven, let cool about 20 minutes, then place a cake plate on top, and wearing oven mitts, flip the cake out on to the plate, taking care, as there may be some hot caramel that might escape.

Serving: Upside Down Cake is best served warm, perhaps with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It can be made in advance, left in the pan, and rewarmed in the cake pan or skillet right before serving. It’s also very good rewarmed in a microwave, and served immediately.

Strawberry Shortcake If You Really Like Cake

I love cake. It's not that I don't enjoy cookies, pie, ice cream and other treats, but I really, really like cake.

When strawberries are at their peak of perfection each year I make every effort to have strawberry shortcake. Some years I go with the cream scone or sweet biscuit type of base but my favorite is always a cake base. The cake soaks up the glorious berry juices and mixes well with rich, freshly-whipped heavy cream and provides another texture as well. Some years if I'm in a hurry I go with a yellow cake mix. Mostly I try out different white or yellow cake recipes. This year I think I've figured out a recipe that will be my go-to for future years when strawberry season rolls around.

My friend Green Thumb was being the hostess for a meeting of the Ways and Means committee. We needed to plan ways to raise money this coming year for scholarships. She had the great idea of serving Strawberry Shortcake, even though we were meeting at 10 am! I guess if we can have strawberries, whipped cream and waffles and call it breakfast that Strawberry Shortcake can be a seasonal coffee cake, too.

She provided the strawberries...those local, sweet, juicy ones, all sliced and ready to go. I provided whipped cream...only the real stuff with fresh strawberries, please...and squares of a moist and buttery buttermilk cake flavored with vanilla and brown sugar. It started as a Dorie recipe but, as is often the case, I played with it so much that she might have trouble recognizing it. I'll give my recipe below and you can check out her recipe for Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake in Baking:from my home to yours and see what changed. The reason I chose to make this cake, aside from the fact that I had buttermilk in the fridge (often I don't) was that I wanted to make a cake with the dry-wet-dry mixing method because I usually like the results.

So we finished our business meeting and then put squares of this springy cake that hinted of brown sugar and lemon into bowls. On top we spooned on generous servings of those sweet berries and their juice. A dollop of whipped cream and a whole strawberry on top finished each serving. This dessert was such a hit that a couple of the ladies who always are careful about what they eat even had seconds!

Try it while strawberry season is here, but remember it will work just as well as a base for sliced fresh peaches, juicy blackberries or blueberries or raspberries or even add some cocoa powder and top with fresh pitted cherries and a swirl of chocolate sauce over the whipped cream for a take on Black Forest cake.

Buttermilk Shortcake Cake
A moist and buttery single layer cake using the dry-wet-dry mixing method

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 egg white
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
grated zest from ½ a lemon
½ cup buttermilk

Butter a 9 inch square baking pan and dust the inside with flour, tapping out any excess. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until sugar is completely blended into the butter.

Add the egg and beat for one minute. Scrape sides of bowl and beater. Add the egg white and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest until incorporated.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the buttermilk in two (begin and end with dry ingredients). Mix only until each addition is barely blended in to the batter. Scrape down the bowl and take a few turns with the spatula to finish mixing the batter quickly.

Put the batter in the prepared pan and level the top. Place on a baking sheet and put into the preheated oven.

Bake for 25 -30 minutes, or until the cake feels springy to the touch and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer cake to a cooling rack and cool 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake and turn out onto a plate. Place an inverted plate over the cake and turn right side up. Cool to room temperature.

Cut the cake into 9 squares if using for strawberry shortcake or similar dessert. This cake will keep, wrapped air tight, overnight or you can freeze it for up to 2 months for a quick dessert.