Thursday, July 18, 2019

Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt #BundtBakers

The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake.

FoodLustPeopleLove: The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake. If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your favorite summer berry.


I’ve just finished reading Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden, which contains fairy tales interspersed with the story, an epic of family and secrets and generational connections. I can’t remember the last time I read a fairy tale before this. When I got to the first one, I almost skipped over it since it was an interruption to the main narrative and I wanted that to continue. But I honored the author's intentions and read it after all. I've been in a weird philosophical mood ever since.

Fairy tales are a genre that don’t often present themselves as adult fare but, honestly, they should be. Some of them are really scary. But they also open our minds to the possibility of magic and mystery in the world around us.

For instance, have you ever seen a magnified photo of a raspberry? The tiny “hairs” and round globes filled with juice and seeds are otherworldly; like little bunches of bright red grapes just the right size for fairies to eat. I think they’d be fans of my raspberry vanilla cake as well.



Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt

If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your own favorite summer berry.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing pan
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml whole fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups or about 180g fresh or frozen raspberries

For the easy raspberry glaze:
5-6 fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 cup or 41g icing sugar
water or lemon juice, as needed

Optional for serving (instead of the glaze): icing sugar

Method
Sprinkle two tablespoons of the sugar on the raspberries in small bowl. Set aside.



Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the butter and the balance of the sugar with electric beaters or in stand mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggs one at a time and beat well with each addition.



Have a quick look at your raspberries and sugar and give them a stir. If they look really juicy, put one tablespoon of the flour mixture into the bowl and fold it into the berries. This will help them stay in the batter rather than falling to the bottom of the cake.

Add half of the remaining flour mixture and half of the buttermilk into the big mixing bowl. Beat on low until combined. Add in the other half of both and beat until just combined.



Spoon the sugary raspberries onto the batter along with any syrup they've created. Raspberries do tend to break down rather nicely. Gently fold them into the batter.



Spoon the batter into your prepared Bundt pan, smoothing out the top, if necessary.



Bake until the cake is golden and well-risen, about 40-45 minutes. A wooden toothpick inserted into center should come out clean.

FoodLustPeopleLove: The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake. If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your favorite summer berry.


To make the raspberry glaze, add the raspberries and powdered sugar to a small bowl. Mash the raspberries with the back of a spoon until they've completely dissolved into the sugar. Add a few drops of water or lemon juice till you get a pouring consistency, if needed. Warm the glaze over a low heat in a small pot, until it turns clear. Set aside to cool.

Cool the Bundt cake in the pan for about 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with your testing toothpick, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack.

FoodLustPeopleLove: The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake. If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your favorite summer berry.
Cool completely before sprinkling with a little icing sugar or spooning on the easy raspberry glaze to serve.

FoodLustPeopleLove: The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake. If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your favorite summer berry.


Enjoy!



My favorite part of summer is the plethora of seasonal fruit in farm shops and supermarkets so I was delighted when this month’s Bundt Baker host, Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals chose that as our theme. Check out all the other lovely summer fruit Bundts we’ve baked for you today.


BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt!

FoodLustPeopleLove: The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake. If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your favorite summer berry.
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Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs #BreadBakers

Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind.

Food Lust People Love: Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.


If you’ve been reading along here for the past eight years, you’ll know that I seldom deep-fry anything. I know, I know. Odd for a cook raised in the southern tradition. My grandmother thought nothing of frying chicken, often more than once a week, if we were visiting. I think she could do it in her sleep. Her fried chicken was the best, a dish I still attempt occasionally. Despite watching and helping her many times, even taking notes, somehow mine is never quite as good.

In fact, there are only three fried recipes on this blog, if you don’t count pan-frying in very little or no oil, which I do not: Spicy fried chicken à la Maya Angelou; deep fried cod fritters, a Brazilian specialty; and tali machchi, a spicy fish dish from Goa on the west coast of India.

But when our host for this month’s Bread Bakers chose fried bread leavened with yeast as our theme, I couldn’t resist making a savory snack. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.

Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs
These crunchy outside, fluffy inside little corn puffs are well worth heating up the oil and throwing an apron on. When deep-frying, always be aware of the possibility of popping oil, keeping your face well away from the pot. I also suggest making sure pets and children are not underfoot.

Ingredients
For the puff dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon shortening, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g strong white bread flour
1 cup or 145g sweet corn niblets, fresh cut off the cob or frozen
1-2 jalapeños, depending on your spiciness tolerance

To fry the puffs:
Canola or peanut oil – enough to allow 2 in or 5 cm of oil in your deep frying pot

Optional for serving:
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method
If you are using frozen corn, thaw it and leave it to drain on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, until you are ready to add it to the dough.

Measure the water into bowl. Add the yeast and sugar. Set aside for a few minutes to make sure your yeast is active. It should begin to bubbly and froth.

Meanwhile cut the stems off the jalapeños and mince them finely. If you have a low tolerance for spicy heat, use only one pepper and remove the seeds and membrane before mincing. We fall very much into the spicier the better camp.



Whisk the shortening, egg and salt into the bowl.

Sift in the flour and mix well. This creates a very thick batter or a very soft dough. Same same.



Fold in the corn and jalapeños. Cover and let rise overnight in the refrigerator or until doubled in a warm place.



Heat your oil in a wide deep pot to the ideal deep-frying temperature of 375°F or 190°C. I always use a thermometer because I am very bad at guessing how hot the oil is. (If you don't have a thermometer, here are some tips from E-How.)

Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to gently drop the batter into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pot, which lowers the oil temperature. I have a two-tablespoon cookie scoop. Filling it about halfway made these perfect little puffs.



Fry the puffs until golden brown on one side, turning them over to lightly brown the other side.

Food Lust People Love: Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.


Use a slotted spoon to scoop the puffs out of the oil and drain on a wire rack or on paper towels. Keep warm in a very slow oven until all the puffs are fried.

Food Lust People Love: Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.


Once my fried jalapeño corn puffs were all ready, I pulled them out of the warm oven and grated a little Parmesan over the top. I suggest you do the same.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.


Many thanks to Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe, our host for this month’s yeasty fried bread event. It was an excellent challenge! Check out the great recipes our members have created today.
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. http://www.pinterest.com/flpl/bread-bakers/ Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/p/breadbakers.html We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
BreadBakers

Pin these Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs! 

Food Lust People Love: Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.
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Monday, June 24, 2019

Fig and Stilton Muffins #MuffinMonday

Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch.

Food Lust People Love: Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch. If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.


I adore fresh figs but they are so hard to come by. My stand in, soft dried figs, can’t replace them but they are so much better than no figs at all. I always assumed that they were dehydrated to the soft state I bought them in, but for the very first time, I actually read the package as I prepared to bake these muffins.

It says, and I quote: Partially rehydrated dried figs.

Which brought up a question for me. Why dry them out completely if you are going to add moisture back at a later date? I spent a couple of days down the rabbit hole of internet research. Who knew dried fig production was such a popular subject for scholarly papers! The best explanation I came up with was that dried figs have a longer shelf life but people want to buy them soft. Hence the two-step process.

The figs are picked when at optimal ripeness then dried completely. They are gently rehydrated which plumps them up and makes them edible again. If you’ve never tried them, they have a similar texture to dried apricots, in other words, they are chewy and sticky. Not hard at all except for the very end of the stems.

Fig and Stilton Muffins

If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing pan
2 large eggs
5 1/3 oz or 150g soft dried figs (about 9-10 figs)
3 1/2 oz or 100g Stilton cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan with oil. The fig and cheese make these more likely to stick than other muffins.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Remove any hard stems on the figs with a sharp knife. Chop the figs roughly and set aside at least 12 pieces to pop on top of the muffins before baking.



Add the rest to the flour mixture and fold gently until they are coated with flour, separating any bits that are stuck together.

Trim any hard rind off of your cheese and discard. Crumble the rest with a fork.



In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, canola and eggs.

Add all the wet mixture to the dry ingredients mixing bowl.



Fold just until dry ingredients are just moistened.  You may still see some flour.

Now fold in the crumbled Stilton, saving a little bit for topping each muffin.



Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top with the reserved fig and Stilton pieces.



Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before removing muffins from the pan. I suggest running a dull knife around the sides of the muffin first to aid in removal.

Food Lust People Love: Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch. If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.


Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch. If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.


Check out the other great muffin recipes my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today! 
Muffin Monday
#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Fig and Stilton Muffins! 

Food Lust People Love: Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch. If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.


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