Tuesday 27 July 2010

Seriously Sublime Sweet Rolls - Trial 1

So the tart and tangy Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls turned out so well that I decided to make a lime version. I call them "Seriously Sublime." In trial 1 of these delicious rolls, I've even added a variation - that is to add frozen blueberries into the roll. But alas, as with other tests - we sometimes discover that "less is more." My husband and I both agree that although we like the blueberries - we love the Seriously Sublime roll with nothing but lime the best. I'm thinking it could even have been more lime-ish. So next time in trial 2, I will attempt to make the filling even more tart - with more lime juice than ever before.


The Dough:

8 Tablespoons oil (sunflower), divided
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon active-dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg white
2 heapen Tablespoons freshly grated lime zest
1 cup milk (sour, butter, plain, soy, rice - your choice)
4 1/4 cups flour (plus a bit extra, if needed)

Oil large glass bowl with 1 Tablespoon oil. In a small bowl activitate yeast with warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar, set aside to bubble a few minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining oil, sugar, salt, egg, lime zest and milk. Blend together. Add in yeast mixture and flour 1/2 cup at a time - continue to mix until all flour is in bowl. Knead a few times and add a bit extra flour, if needed, to make a soft, elastic, not too sticky ball of dough. Put in oiled bowl, and turn to oil top. Cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place until doubled in size - about 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, make lime filling and glaze. Take risen dough out of bowl and punch down. Roll out into a large rectangle - about 1-2 centimeters thick. Take 1/3 of the Lime Filling and spread over the rectangle. [If using blueberries or other berry - add them now]. Starting at one end, roll up into a jelly-roll. Cut into 14-18 slices. Place on prepared baking sheets. (I usually prepare my sheets with baking paper - easier for clean up). Then drizzle another 1/3 of the Lime Filling among the rolls. Allow to rise again in warm place for 30-60 minutes. Then bake in oven 20-25 minutes until golden at 175-C degrees. Remove from oven and drizzle Lime Glaze over top. Cool before eating... if you can wait that long. Lick your fingers or serve with napkins - sticky - gooey - so yummy!!!



Lime Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tsp lime peel, grated
Juice of two small limes
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in small saucepan. Gradually add water and whisk until well blended. Whisk in egg yolks, lime zest and lime juice. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly until thick and bubbly. Boil one minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter. Cool to room temperature without stirring.

Lime Glaze:
1/3 of the Lime filling, 2 heaping teaspoons lime zest, plus about 125g powdered sugar - mix together to a smooth glaze.

[Now in my trial 2 experiment, I shall use more lime juice and less water... I have to in order to call it Serious!]

Monday 26 July 2010

Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls - Trial 2

Little Ella waiting to test some sweet rolls!

Yummy. I made Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls again, with a few changes - which were mentioned last time. The rolls in Trial 1 turned out just fine, I just wanted to try it again with some preparation changes. Which I did. And then from the suggestion of a friend (Vanessa) I added some fruit to the batch as well. I divided the dough up into three parts. I used raspberries, blueberries and strawberries... not all together - separately. And by concensus we liked the Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls with Raspberries the best. Yummy - yummy. The others are good, but the raspberries paired the nicest. So to use the raspberry variations - I rolled out the dough - spread it with one third of the Lemon filling and then I scattered frozen raspberries over the top. Rolled it up and cut them into slices. Drizzled another 1/3 of the filling over top and then let those slices rise again and then baked them. See recipe in Trial 1. I took them to the birthday party I attended saturday night and they didn't last long... although everyone loves cinnamon rolls - on a warm Saturday evening in Summer - these rolls were quite the hit!

Just before they baked in the oven - colorful Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries

Friday 23 July 2010

White Chocolate *Raspberry* Cream Cheese Rolls - Trial 1

Believe it or not, but once upon a time, I did not like cheesecake - or so I thought. I thought that cheesecake sounded very strange. I always liked cheese and cake but the thought of cheesecake - well, it sounded pretty gross to me. I even tried it to give it a chance and I didn't like it. That's because I've since discovered that there are different ways to make cheesecake. I think the version I tried had a lot of eggs and some kind of ricotta or cottage cheese mixture to it. And it had cherries and at some point in my past - in my childhood I didn't care for cherries either.



Fast forward several years and the summer before my first year of college I was visiting Baltimore, Maryland and my Mom really wanted to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, the restaurant. The wait was very long so we ended up going to Pizzeria Uno. I was okay with that - I was more than okay with that. It was a few years later until I actually did eat at The Cheesecake Factory. I think I had a burrito. It was good. And I opted for a strawberry smoothie because I believed at the time that I did not like cheesecake. Everyone else ordered their dessert - cheesecakes - different kinds and they oohed and ahhed, but I didn't care and I was happy with my smoothie. Even at one point my best friend worked at The Cheesecake Factory. She worked in the dessert section. It was her job to put whip cream on slices of cheesecake. So I had plenty of opportunities to try the cake - but I never did.

Then one time, about two years after college, I was at an art opening of sorts, and they had chocolate and caramel cheesecake and it looked really good to me. It didn't look at all like cheesecake - it just looked like a silky chocolate pie. I had slice. It was delicious. Someone said to me, do you like the cheesecake? But I was confused. Cheesecake? I didn't see any. Only that chocolate pie. And they said, that's chocolate cheesecake! And I said, oh - well, it's good.

Then another two years later, I was at a family camp out, it was my brother's birthday and he bought an assortment of cheesecake from Costco but the cheesecakes where packaged from The Cheesecake Factory. And again, I said, cheesecake - I'll pass. But then someone said - oh, just try a slice - we have White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Again with the chocolate - I halted - I thought about it - white chocolate and raspberries... okay - I'll give it try. And the rest is history... I have loved cheesecake ever since.



Now see, that's because there are two kinds of cheesecake - maybe even more than that. Some cheesecakes are made with cream cheese - and I like that. Others are made with some other kind of cheese and I don't think I care for that variety - but I could be wrong - I've been wrong before. My taste buds have changed over the years.

After that experience at the camp out, I set out in search for a similar recipe online. I found one at Allrecipes.com and I've made it several times. It is yum yum... very rich, decadent and let's just say, I'm in love with it. It has been that cake that has inspired me to make these rolls. I hope you like them as much as I do. Of course, I love sweet rolls and I love that cake - so the two combined sounds perfect to me - it's true though - it's not the same as cake - but let's just say you are cutting back on your cream intake - then perhaps these rolls are for you!

The recipe uses my BASIC ROLL MIX - adapted from Make-A-Mix Cookery. Very good book. If you happen upon one - or order on amazon - do try their other recipes that use the basic HOT ROLL MIX. All are very good. You can make donuts, bread, pretzels, etc. with that basic mix.

I thought these rolls turned out very yummy. My 4-year-old especially liked them. I found another treat she likes to eat :) My husband thought that the dough was too dry. I don't know what that means though, other than that the previous rolls we made - the Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls had lots of gooeyness - so I think he was expecting that again... Might have to try out one of the variations and see if he likes them better... next time. But for me, it was a real special treat and they did not last long at our house.

To make the dough, you will need:

1 -1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup oil (sunflower, salad, vegetable, canola) or melted margarine
2 1/2 to 3 cups BASIC ROLL MIX

To make dough, in a mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Blend in egg and oil. Add 2 1/2 cups BASIC ROLL MIX and stir well. Add additional BASIC ROLL MIX up to 1/2 cup more to make a soft dough - not too sticky. Knead a few minutes until smooth. Lightly butter or oil a glass bowl. Put dough in bowl and turn to butter/oil top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place till doubled in size - about 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile - prepare raspberry filling and cream cheese filling.

To make Raspberry Filling you will need:

125 grams frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/4 cup cold water

In a saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, continue to boil 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. Makes about 2/3 cup. Set aside.

To make Cream Cheese Filling you will need:

100 grams plain cream cheese
50 grams plain white chocolate, of a good quality
1 egg yolk
1 package (8 grams) vanilla sugar

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate. It takes 30-45 seconds in 15 second intervals, stirring after each interval until completely melted. Add cream cheese and blend thoroughly with a spoon till smooth. Blend in egg yolk and vanilla sugar. Set aside.

To make White Chocolate Glaze you will need:

25 grams white chocolate, melted
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoon milk to thin

In a bowl, combine melted white chocolate and powdered sugar. Mix until crumbly. Add in vanilla and milk mixing constantly to thin. Set aside until needed.

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After dough has risen, turn out onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll out into a good size rectangle - about 1/4-inch thick (2 cm). Spread with 1/2 the raspberry filling. Roll up dough - jelly roll style and cut into 12 equal slices. Put on prepared baking sheets. (Prepared with baking paper - for easier clean up!) And place each slice on baking sheet a few inches apart. Let rise again another 30-60 minutes in warm place. Preheat oven to 190-C degrees (375-F). With a tablespoon, press a deep indentation in the center of each roll. Fill the indentation with one heaping soup spoon of Cream Cheese Filling until all the filling is used - divide the remainder evenly among the rolls. Bake in oven 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Prepare White Chocolate Glaze and drizzle warm on rolls. Then drizzle rolls with remaining Raspberry Filling.  Makes about 12 rolls.


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Variations:
 
1)  Use raspberry preserves in place of raspberry filling - it's a shortcut - might contain seeds but that's okay. When you want to drizzle it on top of rolls - add a little water to thin and microwave a few seconds, stirring until desired consistency.
 
2) Reverse the order of fillings. Use all of the Cream Cheese Filling in the middle jelly roll stage. And then use Raspberry Filling or raspberry preserves in the indentation-filling stage. Proceed with White Chocolate Glaze and use same dough recipe.

Friday 16 July 2010

BASIC ROLL MIX

This is my BASIC ROLL MIX used for several recipes now and in the future. It saves time... and it's adapted from Make-A-Mix Cookery's HOT ROLL MIX.


To make it you will need 1 large container to store it in. I use a large round clear plastic bin - I bought it at Wal*mart in Germany - back when they still had Wal*mart in Germany. Then label it - very important!


20 cups (5 lbs. or 2 kilos) all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (240 grams) white sugar
4 teaspoons (20 grams) salt
1 cup (116 grams) dry milk powder


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or in the large plastic container you plan to store it in. Stir together to distribute evenly. I use a large wire whisk for this. Store in cool, dry place. Use within 6 to 8 months. Makes about 22 cups of BASIC ROLL MIX.




To make BASIC DOUGH (enough for 12 sweet rolls):

Combine in a mixing bowl 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, 3/4 cup warm water - let sit to become foamy. Then add 1 egg, beaten and 1/4 cup melted margarine or vegetable oil. Mix in 3 cups BASIC ROLL MIX and extra flour if needed to make a soft, not too sticky elastic ball of dough. Put into a bowl buttered with oil and turn to coat. Place someplace warm like the oven on it's lowest setting for at least an hour to rise, covered with plastic wrap.

Saturday 10 July 2010

Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls- Trial 1

These have past two tests. The first being that after 2 days - they still taste fresh and tastey (just a few seconds in the microwave and whalaa!). The second being the taste testers like them...

A few days before I attempted these, I made some 4th of July Inspired - red, white and blue rolls - that turned out not good. A failure for me. But a good failure because I learned from it. What I learned - same as with applying makeup - less is more!  So, I decided to make more sweet rolls but this time I made myself limit what I put in it. I decided I was going to make lemon sweet rolls - and even though I was tempted to add this and that - I limited myself to only one other ingredient and that was a bit of lime zest. So, I'm calling them Lemony-Lime Sweet Rolls.

These turned out fabulous - tart and sweet and very lemony. The taste was great - and already in trial 2 - the only thing that will change is the preparation method because the lemon filling was a bit much and it was difficult to roll up the dough and cut them into slices. So, in trial 2, I will use about 1/3 of the lemon filling for the inside, and then still plop 1/3 filling on top of rolled up rolls and then use the remaining 1/3 filling for the glaze.


Luckily, I'm going to a surprise birthday party in 2 weeks so I have another excuse to bake :) yippee!
Here is the recipe with (trial 2) suggestions for preparations.

The Dough:

8 Tablespoons oil (sunflower), divided
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon active-dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
2 heapen Tablespoons freshly grated lime zest
1 cup milk (sour, butter, plain, soy, rice - your choice)
4 1/4 cups flour (plus a bit extra, if needed)

Oil large glass bowl with 1 Tablespoon oil. In a small bowl activitate yeast with warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar, set aside to bubble a few minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining oil, sugar, salt, egg, lime zest and milk. Blend together. Add in yeast mixture and flour 1/2 cup at a time - continue to mix until all flour is in bowl. Knead a few times and add a bit extra flour, if needed, to make a soft, elastic, not too sticky ball of dough. Put in oiled bowl, and turn to oil top. Cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place until doubled in size - about 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, make lemon filling and glaze. Take risen dough out of bowl and punch down. Roll out into a large rectangle - about 1-2 centimeters thick. Take 1/3 of the Lemon filling and spread over the rectangle. Starting at one end, roll up into a jelly-roll. Cut into 14-18 slices. Place on prepared baking sheets. (I usually prepare my sheets with baking paper - easier for clean up). Then place another 1/3 of the lemon filling divided among the rolls - just smooth over with a spoon or brush on top. Allow to rise again in warm place for 30-60 minutes. Then bake in oven 20-25 minutes until golden at 175-C degrees. Remove from oven and drizzle glaze over top. Cool before eating... if you can wait that long. Lick your fingers or serve with napkins - sticky - gooey - so yummy!!!

Lemon filling (from Wilton.com):

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon peel, grated
Juice of medium lemon
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in small saucepan. Gradually add water and whisk until well blended. Whisk in egg yolks, lemon peel and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly until thick and bubbly. Boil one minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter. Cool to room temperature without stirring.

Glaze:

1/3 of the Lemon filling, 2 heaping teaspoons lime zest, plus about 125g powdered sugar - mix together to a smooth glaze.