Christmas Morning Crown

I love Christmas morning... I remember the excitement of Christmas mornings as a child, when you would wake up with a jolt and run to the tree ready to tear open your gifts. As an adult I still wake looking forward to the day, but make more of a sleepy, leary-eyed stumble into the living room to join family in opening gifts. The opening of gifts is pretty efficient in my family.. I know that in other families it is all very civilised and you have to wait until after breakfast... but not in mine! It can be a bit choatic, but I love it all the same :)

Christmas day breakfast is usually a pretty relaxed affair for us, and my Mum spoils the boys with a big fry up breakfast while I usually stick with my staple muesli/cereal so as not to fill up to much for the ensuing feast later in the day.

I think this recipe is also a good idea for Christmas morning as it can be prepared in advance and then baked on Christmas day. It not only looks great on a plate, but it's very easy to serve - simply pull apart! This adapted Christmas recipe comes courtesy of none other than the December/January issue of Delicious magazine - my Cookbook of the Month for December.

Christmas Morning Crown
makes 9 scrolls

1 1/2 c (225g) strong (bread flour)
7g sachet dried instant yeast
125g unsalted butter, chopped (plus extra to grease)
1/2c 9125 ml) warm milk
1 egg, beaten
50g brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
1 tsp mixed spice
1/3 c (55g) chopped mixed peel
1/3 c (55g) sultanas
1/4c (50g) glace cherries, chopped
1/2 c icing sugar, sifted
lemon juice

1. Grease a large baking tray and dust with flour. I used a heavy pizza tray, but any large baking tray will do.

2. Sift flour into a large bowl, add yeast and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub in 40g of the butter to form coarse breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre and mix in the milk and egg to form a dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, beat remaining butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Add nuts, spice, peel, sultanas and cherries and stir to combine.

4. Punch down dough to expel air, knead briefly then roll out on a floured surface to form a 30cm x 23 cm rectangle. Spread the fruit mixture over the dough with a spatula, leaving a 2cm border along the sides. Roll up along the long side to form a log, then cut into 9 equal size pieces.

5. Place slices, cut side up, on the floured tray so it forms a circle with the slices just touching. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until slightly risen. (Once risen, you can cover the crown and chill overnight, then bring back to room temperature before baking).

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and bake the crown for 20 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to form an icing thin enough for drizzling, then drizzle over the slightly cooled crown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tell me, dear readers, what's your Christmas morning tradition? Do you have breakfast before or after opening up your presents?


Ladybird x

Baby Panettone

One of the things I love about food blogging is that you actually end up learning a lot about food along the way. I particularly love learning about festive food from around the world, its history, the way foods evolve along with soceity, and so on. Fascinating stuff (well.. for me anyway!). I had one of these warm and fuzzy moments when reading an article about panettone recently. It was so lovely to read about its origins and how significant it is to Italians at this time of year. Food really does bring people together, which I think is one of the nicest things about Christmas. So, even though I am not Italian, I decided I wanted in on this panettone business!

So what is panettone? Panettone is a traditional Italian bread with a domed top enjoyed around Christmas. It is a lovely buttery and lightly sweetened bread dotted with dried fruit such as raisins and candied citron. It is said to have originated in Milan, and is commonly enjoyed warm or lightly toasted along with (and even dunked into) espresso at breakfast.

Although it takes a little time to wait for the dough to rise (I definitely do not recommend attempting to make this on a weekday after work), here is a recipe to make your own baby size panettone. I'm a sucker for anything miniature, aren't you?! To make this recipe, you'll need 8 empty, clean, regular-size cans. I only had 4, so I actually halved the recipe below.

Baby Panettone
Adapted recipe from 200 Christmas Recipes by Hamlyn

2 tsp easy-blend dried yeast
125g caster sugar, plus 1 tsp
175ml hand-hot milk
700g strong bread flour (available in the baking aisle of most supermarkets)
4 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 2 lemons
175 salted butter, very soft and diced
185g mixed dried fruit

1. Grease 8 x 400ml clean food cans and line with greaseproof paper that extends above the rims. Grease the paper.

2. Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar into the milk in a large, warm bowl and leave for 10 minutes or until frothy. Stir in 100g of the flour. Cover with clingfilm and leave for 30 minutes.

3. Add the eggs and egg yolks, the remaining flour and the sugar, vanilla, zest and butter. Mix with a round-bladed knife to make a soft dough, adding a little more flour if the dough feels sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Leave to rise in a lightly greased bowl, covered with clingfilm, for 2-4 hours or until doubled in size.

4. Knock back the dough and lightly knead in the dried fruit. Cut the dough into 8 pieces and drop into the tins. Cover and leave to rise until the dough reaches the can rims.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius (Gas Mark 6) for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove from oven and leave in cans for 5 minutes before shaking out the panettone to cool on a wire rack.

Variation
To make a whole panettone instead of 8 baby ones, shape the mixture into 1 large ball. Place in a 15cm round cake tin, greased and lined with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper that extends 10cm above the rim. Cover and leave to rise. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees celcius, then reduce to 180 degrees celcius and bake for 40 minutes until well risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy at home, or wrap well with clingfilm, add some festive decorations and give away to family/friends!


Ladybird x

Chocolate Banana Bread

I love it when you come across a new way to use up old bananas. Regular banana bread is great, but this banana bread is a bit different and it is SO easy to make. Most important of all, it's delicious!
This is a Bill Granger recipe... He is one of my Australian food heroes not only because of his fantastic food at bills and bills2  in Sydney, but also because he is a self-taught chef, and I love that about him... very inspiring.

This recipe was shared with me by a friend, and now I'm passing it onto to all of you. So go forth, and spread the chocolate banana bread love amongst your family and friends!

Chocolate Banana Bread
(recipe from Bill's Food by Bill Granger)

2 c (300g) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c caster sugar
3 bananas, mashed
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c dark choc-chips
icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a 24 x 13 x 7cm loaf pan.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the caster sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, combined the bananas, butter, eggs, vanilla and choc-chips. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Dust with the icing sugar, serve warm.

Tip

If the bread is browning too quickly, cover with foil and continue to bake.

Ladybird x

Bakers Delight Cape Seed Giveaway

Admittedly, I am pretty fussy when it comes to bread. I am quite health conscious in my selection and, of course, it has to taste good! I have always been a fan of the Cape Seed loaf and rolls at Bakers Delight, however, until very recently I had no idea it was so healthy! As it turns out.. Cape Seed bread is packed with vitamins and minerals, which makes me feel extra good about my choice in bread :)

 

Loads of goodness goes into this bread, including over nine grains and seeds go into Bakers Delight's Cape Seed loaf... soy and linseed, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, rye, barley, oats and mung beans, just to name a few. Full of vitamins and minerals it includes iron, protein, vitamin E, antioxidants and omega-3. Another great thing about Cape Seed bread is that it's has a low glycemic index (GI), which means it will keep you full longer and provide longer lasting energy (no risk of sugar crashing here!).

One of my favourite ways to enjoy Cape Seed bread is as part of a quick, weekday breakfast - sliced, toasted and topped with banana (and alongside coffee of course!) Or, for something a bit fancier, I might also add some low fat ricotta and a little honey.

Thanks to Bakers Delight, you have the chance to win 1 of 9 vouchers to the value of $5 for you to use at any Bakers Delight bakery in Australia. To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post and tell me your 'mini recipe' for how you would use Cape Seed bread. Be as creative as you like! Entries close at midnight AEST on September 8, 2010.


Good luck!

Ladybird x