Has it really been more than a week since my last post? Now that I’m back to working for my butter, I haven’t had as much time to bake, blog, or even visit other blogs. For the latter, I wholeheartedly apologise.

Work, for those who have been wondering, has been very interesting. So far, I have worked with methylcellulose, marvelled at the abilities of Versa-Whip, tasted a brand of chocolate I’m not familiar with, discovered a nemesis : the Vitaprep, and walked into a glass door. All brand new experiences for me. I have also learned other new things, especially from Dan, which I might incorporate into a dessert or two, to feature here some day.

Inbetween, I have been trying to make the most of my days off. Sunday has become cinnamon-roll-day in our house. A handful of these (trust me, you’ll eat more than one; they disappear so quickly, straight from the oven), a cup of coffee and football on the telly : this has become the thing I most look forward to, at the end of a long week.

It all started when we watched a movie one Saturday evening. Kamome Diner is about a Japanese woman trying to run a diner in Helsinki, Finland. Like most food-related movies, it turns out to be a story celebrating life, friendship, and the connective powers of food. Being the suggestible person that I am (I still ‘stroke the pork’ in my bowl of ramen, after watching Tampopo), I was soon craving tonkatsu, soy glazed salmon, onigiri, and cinnamon rolls with coffee. As he is a very hungry person himself, B managed to make the first three dishes happen, by taking us to Jugemu & Shimbashi for dinner. That afternoon, I baked cinnamon rolls and he brewed coffee. The only thing we disagreed on was the way in which one should eat the rolls. B just sinks his teeth into the whole bun, while I like peeling the layers off, which he thinks only serves to dilute the bun-eating experience.

The recipe for these Finnish delights comes from Beatrice Okajangas’ baking book. She calls them cinnamon ‘ears’, but I somehow managed to misread the instructions (how this is possible, considering there are diagrams in the book, is beyond me) and my ‘ears’ did not turn out as ‘audibly’ as expected, so I’m calling them :

Cinnamon Rolls :
(makes 24; from Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Okajangas)

2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, 40 – 46’C
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 slightly beaten eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
4 1/2 to 5 cups plain flour

for the filling :
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

for the glaze :
1 slightly beaten egg
2 tablespoons milk
pearl sugar or crushed sugar cubes

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, the eggs, salt, cardamom, and 4 1/2 cups flour until dough is smooth. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.

Sprinkle board with some of the remaining flour. Divide dough into 2 parts. Turn out onto the lightly floured board, and roll each part out to make a rectangle about 12 inches by 24 inches long. Spread each half with half the butter and sprinkle with half the sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, starting from a 24-inch side. Cut each roll diagonally into 12 pieces. Each piece will be about 1/2 inch on one side and 3 inches thick on the other. With two thumbs, press down the middle of the side of each roll. In so doing the two cut edges will be forced upward. The rolls will resemble two “ears”.

Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease them. Place cinnamon ears on prepared baking sheets. Let rise until puffy. Mix the egg and milk to make a glaze. Brush rolls with the glaze and sprinkle with the pearl sugar.

Preheat oven to 204’C. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just golden.

I told myself that this year was going to be the year I baked more from my bookmarks. So far, it’s been a pretty successful resolution, though I have yet to make the chocolate wine (!) or lychee cake I’ve been eyeing for so long.

After making cookie versions of hot cross buns, I finally found some time to bake the real thing. Since I was in search of a new hot cross bun recipe to try, it was also the perfect opportunity to utilise my bookmarks. I made batches of two different recipes and was very happy with the results from both. B preferred the Baker & Spice recipe because theirs is pretty heavy in fruit and spice. Even though I am all about the fruit and spices in hot cross buns, there’s something about Bron Marshall’s recipe that makes me want to bake it again (maybe with a bit more fruit in it), so for me, hers wins by a whisker.

You can find the recipe for Bron Marshall’s Hot Cross Buns here. However, if Easter buns don’t float your boat, can I suggest something a little different. Something also from my bookmark folder, which is as much about brown sugar and spice (and everything nice) as the buns above.

This lovely cakey version of Lebkuchen comes from Pastry Studio. The original recipe is here, but I’m including my version of the recipe because I made a few changes based on what I had in my kitchen, and also weighed everything so that I would have a record of this recipe metric form for future reference. (Yes, I will be making it again!)

Lebkuchen Cake :
(serves 8; from Pastry Studio)

165g plain flour
45g hazelnuts
45g almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
170g unsalted butter @ room temperature
165g brown sugar
2 eggs @ room temperature
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy [I used Kahlua]
1 1/2 teaspoons candied orange peel, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon candied lemon peel, very finely chopped [I didn’t have candied peel handy, so I used 2 teaspoons candied ginger and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest]

Chocolate Glaze :

170g bittersweet chocolate [70% Lindt]
230g thickened cream (35% fat)
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat the oven to 176’C. Brush an 8-inch cake pan with butter and line the bottom with a parchment round. Butter the parchment and dust the bottom and sides with flour.

Place the flour, almonds, hazelnuts, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a food processor. Process a couple of minutes until the nuts are very finely ground into the flour. Pour into a bowl.

Beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and cream the mixture on medium speed until pale, light and very fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the honey, cognac, orange and lemon peel. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the nut flour by hand in three batches, mixing just enough to moisten and blend. The batter will be quite thick. Scrape into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 26 – 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin blade knife around the cake to loosen and invert. Flip the cake back over to right side up and cool completely.

To glaze the cake, place the cooled cake on a an 8″ cardboard round or removable tart pan bottom. Return the cake to the cooling rack and place over a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and place in a medium bowl.
Bring cream and honey or corn syrup to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Pour over chocolate and let stand a couple of minutes. Whisk slowly and gently starting in the middle and then working outward in concentric circles until completely combined.

Glaze the cake, pouring quickly in the center and around the edges. Tap the baking sheet on the work surface to encourage the glaze to run down the sides if necessary. Just as it begins to dry, run a small spatula around the underside of the cake to smooth the bottom edge and prevent “feet” from forming. Let glaze dry before serving.

(PS: If you are an Australian foodblogger, you might be interested in signing up for the Australian Foodbloggers Group that Reemski has started. Her goal is to create an Australian version of the International Foodbloggers Conference currently being held in Seattle. I have signed up in support, and also think it is a great way to get to know more about the Australian food blogs and bloggers out there that I have yet to stumble across.)

What is it they say about April showers that seems to apply to Sydney at the moment? We are awash with neverending rain and gloomy skies that make me want to stay rugged up all day, nibbling pastries and sipping tea.

April is usually one of my favourite times of the year, what with the many hot cross buns I have already put away (straight onto my hips). At school, April was the time we exchanged Easter eggs, made plans to meet up during the holidays, and talked endlessly about the showbags we were going to get at the Royal Easter Show. This year is made even more exciting by the impending visit of my sister and her family from New Zealand. It’s been awhile since I last saw my little nieces. We are planning to take them (and B) to their first ever Show, and I expect I’ll be sharing pictures of our day spent there, in the near future.

In the meantime, this weather has put me in the mood for a little baking. These brioche scrolls were inspired by a delicious matcha and adzuki bean danish we had at Sadaharu Aoki’s patisserie when we were last in Tokyo. I spread a very generous layer of green tea custard on the brioche dough, scattered some chopped candied ginger and white chocolate on top, then rolled up the dough and portioned it into 12 pieces. These scrolls are incredibly good, straight from the oven, when the custard is still warm and slightly oozy. I had two just while standing there, supervising them as they cooled the rack.

Raquel of Growing Up Green recently passed on an award to me. As thanks, I am dedicating these green tea custard scrolls to her.

Green Tea Custard Scrolls :
(makes 12)

Brioche :
(based on a recipe in Gourmet Traveller Sept 2006)
80ml milk
5g dried yeast
300g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
100g unsalted butter, softened

250 – 300g green tea custard (recipe below)
optional extras : sweetened adzuki beans, chopped candied ginger or white chocolate buttons etc

Warm the milk in a saucepan (to about blood temperature), add the yeast and whisk until yeast dissolves. Stir in 30g flour and stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.

Combine remaining flour, sugar and 1/2 teaspoons sea salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix for 2 minutes on lowest setting. Pour in yeast mixture and egg, mixing until it just comes together [Note: Add a splash more milk if the dough is looking too dry]. Increase speed to medium, add butter a little at a time, then increase speed to high and mix for 5 minutes or until smooth. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place for 1 hour.

Turn brioche dough onto a lightly floured surface, knock back, then knead lightly until smooth. Roll out a 20cm x 55cm rectangle, then, with the long side facing you, spread evenly with green tea custard, leaving a 2cm border on the far long side. Scatter any optional extras you want on top of the custard. Roll into a cylinder, then cut into 12 even pieces and place, cut-side down, closely on a baking paper-lined oven tray and stand for 10 minutes or until risen. Bake at 180’C for 30 minutes or until light golden.

While still warm, brush lightly with a little apricot glaze. When cooled, dust with more green tea powder or icing sugar.

Green tea custard :
(based on a recipe from Pastry : Savory and Sweet by Michel Roux)
[Note: This recipe yields more custard than you need for the scrolls. You can cut the recipe by half, or make the full recipe and use the custard in other ways – as a filling for crepes, for example]
6 yolks
125g sugar
20g plain flour
20g custard powder
500ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons green tea (maccha/matcha) powder (or more, if you like it stronger)

In an electric mixer, whisk yolks and a third of the sugar until very thick and pale. Whisk in flour, custard powder and green tea powder.

Heat the milk with the remaining sugar and vanilla. When it boils, pour it onto the egg yolk mixture. Mix well, then return to the stove. Bring to boil, stirring continuously with a whisk. Let it simmer for two minutes, stirring, then strain the custard into a bowl. Place some cling film over the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely before using.

(The best way to rapidly chill down the custard is by placing the bowl in an iced water bath. This custard can be made ahead, and kept in the fridge for several days before using.)