We know a place where no planes go
We know a place where no ships go
No cars go
Where we know
–No Cars Go, Arcade Fire

You know what they say, familiarity breeds contempt. Or better yet, I prefer to think of it as familiarity breeds better jokes. If you’ve gone out with (or been friends with) someone for long enough and you find yourself knowing exactly what they’re going to say before they say it, then it’s time to think up new ways of making them laugh. Like the time I went to take a bite of an ice-cream cone and completely missed my mouth, which set B off into laughter so hard he had to wipe away tears. (Admittedly, that’s probably just an example of very very bad coordination on my part!)

Then again, familiarity does have it’s merits. B is probably the only person I know who would instantly laugh if I said the words Business Socks, or Hiphopopotamus.

Me, I actually quite like routine. To indulge in the unfamiliar is to break away from those things you find so comforting and safe. Ergo, when you have a handful of potatoes, make creamy mash or if it’s a few sprigs of rosemary, pair it with garlic in a lamb roast. Following this automatic train of thought, when B brought home some overripe bananas, I instantly thought of making banana bread.

What stopped me was the fact that I had recently been making many loaves of said bread at work, and didn’t fancy repeating the task at home. So, I made banana jam. Not terribly groundbreaking. But a nice change from routine. If unlike me you’re not yet tired of making banana bread, you could always try this recipe.

(The banana plant, as I discovered during my web travels, is not actually a tree, but a giant herb. It’s fruit is high in fibre and potassium and is a good source of energy. This always reminds me of when I was once at a kids camp and we were each given a single banana and a bottle of water during a trekking trip. We were told that it was part of an exercise to teach us about how nutritious and energy-giving natural foods like bananas are. I don’t know why it has stuck in my head all these years, given it was one of the most boring parts of the camp, ever.)

Banana and Honey Jam :
(makes 400g; from Two’s Cooking by Jane and Jeremy Strode)

500g ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
250g honey
100g caster sugar
1 lime, juice and strained

Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan. Warm gently over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat, bring to a simmer, and stir continuously with a flat-bottomed spoon until jam reaches 105’C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Pour into a clean container or a sterilised glass jar and refrigerate.

Banana and Honey Jam is my contribution for this week’s WHB, hosted by Margot of Coffee and Vanilla.

I’m hoping that I’m not the only person who realised late late yesterday afternoon that the Daring Bakers Challenge was due on Sunday. Yikes! A quick powerwalk to the shops then, to source some cream cheese, eggs and lollipop sticks. The first two weren’t hard to find (and cream cheese always reminds me of Philly spread on bagels.. mmmm..), but I didn’t manage to get any lollipop sticks. Completely forgetting that skewers were a possibility, I decided to use some fondue forks I had at home instead. [Note to self : How about buying and eating 30 chuppachups for their sticks? Viable option?]

Anyway. Woke up this morning, splashed some water on my face, and thought, Right. I’m going to dip me some balls. Call the nurse. Nurse! Bring forth the balls from cryostasis! This is going to require the couverture.

And the end result? Well, cheesecake, pumped full with dairy as it is, is like kryptonite to B, and I personally am not a big cheesecake fan either, but I was very fascinated by this recipe all the same. I mean, who would’ve thought you could serve cheesecake in this way? I’m keeping this one in mind for the next time my little nieces are in town, with one important change : I think it might be easier to handle and subsequently eat these pops if they were smaller. Maybe half the size, would make them much better for dipping in chocolate, and a little less of an assault on the stomach, seeing as they’re quite dense balls of cheese! Or is that just the non-cheesecake eater in me speaking?

Many thanks to Elle and Deborah for picking such an interesting recipe. Also, I’d also like to give a big shout out to Ivonne and Lis who worked hard at creating a new home for the ever increasing family of Daring Bakers. Thanks guys! It must feel like a second full-time job by this stage, so just so you know, we all totally appreciate it! 🙂

Cheesecake Pops :
(Makes 30-40 pops; from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor)

5 x 226g packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream

453g dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Assorted decorations – optional [I used coloured sugar, strawberry powder, shredded coconut and maple sugar]

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 166’C. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 56g balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Sherry Yard, I love you. All is forgiven. We went through a rough patch for awhile, with The Secrets of Baking, but I’m thoroughly enjoying my recent purchase, Desserts by the Yard. I love the stories accompanying each chapter, and the passion each recipe exudes. Also, the ones I have attempted, have been wonderful so far. In fact, I could probably quite happily bake my way through the entire book.

Departing from the sugary stuff for a moment, I’m currently nibbling on a very tasty salted pretzel as I write this. It all started when I was unfortunate enough to finally discover the whereabouts of Luneburger’s Wynyard branch. Every morning it has been a temptation to stop by for a warm pretzel on the way to work. Great perhaps, for the happiness quotient, but not so good for the bank account in the long term. Before I realised where their Wynyard shop was, I used to be at the mercy of the Pretzel Fairy who worked closer to their original shop and who would occasionally present me with a “just-because” pretzel (I’m an easy girl to please – I don’t need flowers, just pretzels).

In order for it not to get completely out of hand, I resolved to make a successful batch of pretzels at home so that I could occasionally stave off the cravings. And just so that I can say that I have, and I can…

I had attempted making pretzels before, using Eva’s recipe. The results were ok, though not great, but that mostly boiled down (haha) to my reluctance to use lye water for dipping the pretzels. I now concede that this is the only way to get an authentic pretzel. However, the following recipe by Sherry Yard which I attempted today, is definitely the best, as far as alternatives go.

Pretzels :
(makes 8; from Desserts by the Yard, by Sherry Yard)

For the dough:
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (32’C)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the simmering liquid :
1.89Lt water
1/4 cup amber beer
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil for glazing
1-2 tablespoons pretzel salt or coarse sea salt (to taste)

To make the dough: In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let sit for 5 minutes, or until cloudy. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar, sugar and vegetable oil and mix well.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. With the motor running, add the liquid mixture and process for 2 minutes.

Spray a large bowl with pan spray. Scrape out the dough and place in the bowl. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Line four baking trays with baking paper and spray the paper. Lightly oil your work surface and your hands. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 8 equal pieces. One at a time, shape each piece into a pretzel. (Cover the pieces you aren’t working with, with palstic or a damp kitchen towel). Roll each piece out into a 24-inch-long rope, slightly tapered at the ends. Shape into a U, then crisscross the ends halfway up, twist them together twice like a twist-tie, and pull the legs down over the bottom of the U. Place the shaped pretzels on two of the lined baking trays. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until not quite doubled.

While the pretzels are rising, place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 232’C. Cut the baking paper the pretzels are on into squares to facilitate lifting and transferring the pretzels into the water bath.

Simmer the Pretzels : In a 10-inch-wide stainless steel pot, combine the water, beer, baking soda, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Two at a time, lift a baking paper square with a pretzel and carefully reverse the pretzel off the paper into the simmering water. Cook for 10 seconds and flip, using a skimmer or slotted spoon. Cook for another 10 seconds, and with the skimmer, lift above the pan to drain. Then transfer to the other two baking trays, rounded sides up. Brush with vegetable oil. Dust with pretzel salt or coarse salt.

Bake, switching the trays from top to bottom and rotating from front to back halfway through, for 15 minutes, or until the pretzels are chestnut brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm.