Cheesy, Flaky, Homemade Crackers

I’m back! Can you believe it, so soon after my last post? It’s like the twilight zone. Except without the music and the scariness. Okay, so it’s not at all like the twilight zone. Though I suppose some people may freak out at the shape of the end result of this recipe. Did that make sense? Anyway, I’m going to a meet tomorrow and we’re all rat lovers – so I’m making rat shaped crackers! You can pretend they’re mouse shape, if that makes you feel better. They do have cheese in them, and as far as I’m concerned that should transcend any mouse/rat/rodent phobia you might have, because cheese is wonderful and we should treat it as a god. Bow down to the mightiness that is cheese. You may also eat it.

Quick interlude: Are these not the cutest measuring cups you've ever seen?



In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re doing that whole ‘live blogging’ thing again. I really enjoyed it last time, so I’m subjecting you whether you liked it or not. Onwards!

Cheesy Homemade Crackers

1 c flour
4 tbsp butter
8 oz cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 – 4 tbsp water or milk.

Method

1. This recipe is pretty damn simple, so the steps are too. First step? Measure out the flour, butter, salt and ground pepper.

2. Mix those four together loosely with your hands – they’ll form big, buttery clumps.



3. Grate your cheese (any harder cheese that you like, really. I was boring and went for tasty).

4. Throw that into your bowl and add the first one or two tablespoons of liquid and mix in. Using your hands again. I am one of those bakers that hates using my hands for mixing, but I will always, always, always get my hands in for something that is this delicate and butter laden. You should end up with lots of large clumps from all your squeezing . You can add more liquid in here if you like, but I found that I didn’t need to.



5. Make it into one big clump, wrap in glad wrap, then put it in the fridge for at least twenty minutes. I have other things to bake, so it’s staying in there for however long that takes.



6. After enough time, take it out of the fridge. Now comes the hard part. If you’re anything like me, you hate rolling anything pastry-like. I have a trick. You need two large pieces of greased kitchen paper and a heavy rolling pin.

7. Put half of the dough in between the sheets, and put the rest back in the fridge. Now, roll away! This will ensure that it’s easy to get the cut shapes back up and onto your baking tray.



8. Now cut them out, remove, and put on the baking tray.







9. Cook t 180 degrees until lightly golden brown. Aww.



Okay, apparently this mix makes a bazillion crackers. Which is fine if you’re not using a fiddly cutter – so I used the rat-mouse cutter for half the dough, and a simple, scalloped, round one for the rest. Also, they taste like awesome. Please don’t skimp on the salt, because it really does bring out the cheese and they end up with an amazingly deep, rich flavour. Of course, because they’re basically butter and cheese, these crackers are very flaky, which is just how I like my home made crackers. I will definitely have to repeat this one – if only because my mother loves them. When she came home and tried one, she then demanded that I hurry up and make more so she could eat them. I was pretty much thinking the same thing.

Caramel Glazed Mini Snicker Doodle Muffins

I’m trying something new. It’s called live blogging (god, I’m original). ...Okay, that sounds a little bit ridiculous. But it’s a bit different when it comes to food blogging, as you actually have to complete the activity before you blog. So, by live blogging on a food blog, I mean, I’m writing the steps as I go. So basically, you’re privy to what I’m thinking. Minus the swearing. Of course, I’ll be going back through to add my mandatory pictures and the recipe details.

Just a quick intro to the recipes, as usual. This time it’ll be a little different as ... well, I haven’t made it yet. But they remind me of donuts. All cinnamon and sugary and frosted/glazed. I wish we had decent donut stores in New Zealand. Or maybe I don’t, because I’d then eat way too many donuts.

Anyway, back on task. I’m making these because tomorrow my family and I are going to a family friend’s for an after-church Easter brunch thing. Generally everybody is told not to bring anything, but does anybody really ever listen to that? So we’re taking breakfast sausages, and apparently 4-am snicker doodle mini muffins dipped in caramel frosting. I figured, we might want something sweet to eat with a coffee, but considering brunch is usually such a fulfilling meal, it might be best if it was light, or very small. These, at least, are small. I can’t vouch for light, but given that they’re covered in frosting, I’m going to be they’re not. But they look delicious.

Snicker Doodle Mini Muffins.

Ingredients:

1 c + 4 tbsp flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (I use Equagold)
125 grams of butter (also the exact gram weight of an American stick of butter)
½ c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I use Equagold vanilla paste, so of course I use less – this is a liquid measurement)
½ c + 2 tbsp milk

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar for forever. Or alternatively, until light and fluffy.



2. Reread the recipe. What? I’ve forgotten it already. Hope like hell you actually have eggs.
3. Find eggs and gleefully crack two into the butter mixture, and combine.
4. Forget that you were supposed to add the vanilla in with the egg, and quickly do that. Also stick your nose in the vanilla paste container and making stupid yummy noises. Things are organised here. Sure they are.



5. Figure out how much flour you have to use, then split it in half and throw that in the bowl. Mix it quickly until it’s only just combined. ‘Cos over mixing sucks. Stupid pokey-topped cupcakes.
6. Follow with half the milk, again only milking half-assedly. I’m making up words now.
7. Finally, add the rest of the flour. Except this time, don’t forget the cinnamon (I have the best stuff – my delicious friend Deb’s sent me some from her parent’s company Equagold) and the baking powder. Mix again with the half-assedness.
8. Again, follow with the milk. Gotta make sure everything is completely combined this time, as it’s the last mix you’ll make, but try to keep it to a minimum. See above rant about cupcake tops.



9. Double check you added everything.
10. Spoon into a mini muffin pan, though I suppose you could use bigger ones, and bake them in a 180 degree celcius oven until cooked (bounce back when gently touched). This recipe is supposed to yield around 45 mini cupcakes, as I doubled the original recipe. But I dunno, I must have some major serving discrepancies with almost every recipe I’ve ever made, because I never end up with the right amount of anything (be it waaay too many, or not enough).





You know, as I’m waiting for the first batch to cook, I’m kind of enjoying this method of blogging. I can see it making regular postings much easier, as there is always that down time in recipes when you’re fluffing around trying to find things, or thinking of particular things. It’s kind of useful to get it all down. Plus, there is that whole in-the-oven time, where there is really only cleaning up to do, so it’s nice to be able to speculate almost immediately. I’d love some feedback on what you think of the new method, so please indulge me.

.. Sometime later: I knew there was a reason I disliked muffins. They’re so friggen hard to get out of the pan, even if said pan is Teflon coated, and you have greased it rather obsessively. Gah! This is why I prefer spring form bakeware – you can take off the sides, and only have to line the bottom of the pan. But once I finally got them out, they look adorable and smell de-vi-ne. I ate one of the failures, and it was delicious.



Also, I ran away and made up a third batch, because I realised... my family, plus friends and their families, on Easter equals a hell of a lot of people. So I needed more food. Ta da! It was super duper quick, which was kinda cool. I was impressed with my faster-than-light baking skills. So yes, you get around 40/45 very mini muffins from the original recipe that I posted.

On a side note; holy crap this post is long. Apparently I think a lot of pointless stuff when I’m baking. It’s like I’ve got my own little television show going on in my head.

Caramel Frosting

Ingredients:

½ c brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla (liquid measurement again)
½ c icing/confectioners’ sugar.

Method:

1. Okay. I now have a bazillion mini cupcakes, and it’s time to frost. So apparently I start by putting the sugar (mmm, brown sugar) and butter in a small sauce pan, on a medium heat and bring to the boil, whilst stirring frequently. Seems easy enough. Boil for about a minute
2. Oh my god. I want to eat it all. As I had to work quickly, the following instructions are written after I finished icing the cakes.
3. Once you bring it to the boil, add in your milk and vanilla and stir quickly. Let it boil for about minute seconds.
4. Biff in your SIFTED icing sugar. Heat over the element/let boil for about another thirty seconds, then get to work.



5. Because this is a glaze, it sets quickly, so you do have to start icing immediately. Good thing? It’s simple as. You literally pick the muffin up, dunk it top first into the icing and then set it aside to set. And it does that in like two seconds.



6. You may need to randomly stir your glaze as it can start to form a crust on the top as it sets, which makes the dunking part a little difficult. Be careful of the hot sugar, too. And take every opportunity to eat it, because it is beyond divine.



I just ate one. Oh dear lord. Holy hell. These are amazing. I don’t think I’ve tasted something so good in a loooong time; the combined muffin and glaze is beyond delicious. Thank you so much amateur foodie for this recipe.

Julie & Julia

This is just a quick blog, and atypical of what I usually write here. Before I start though, I'll address my terrible lack of recipes; I have no excuse. I'm really bad at this, aren't I? Anyway, I haven't done a lot of cooking or baking that was outside the realms of boring or need-to-eat-for-dinner. And I just have to say, when I'm cooking for dinner, I don't have time to take pictures. But even if you, my imaginary readers, do not like that aspect of my blog - I do. I want this to be a recipe book, one that covers any problem you might have, and gives an example. So. Um. Wasn't that quick? And I haven't even got onto what I actually wanted to discuss.

It took me a long time to see Julie & Julia, mostly because the only people who would go to it with me, went without me. I finally hired it out on dvd, and I have got to say, it's adorable. I love it to pieces. Meryl Streep is fantastically fantastic and it's amazing how much food is incorporated into the movie without being... tedious. Over reaching. Condescending. Personally, I liked the bits focusing on Julia and her husband the most, but I suspect that may be because Julie and her husband provided strategic interludes that stopped it from becomming twee.

My favourite scene in the entire movie is when Julia at home in Paris, madly chopping onions at her battered old wooden table. It's just so deliciously insane and giggly. Kind of made me want to go and crazily hack at some poor vegetable. Unfortunately, my knife skills do not live up to those demonstrated.

So in short, watch the movie. Please do. Even if you're not a foodie (closet or otherwise), it really is endearing and fun.

Poppy Seed Tarallini

Look! Another post so soon after the other? Is the world coming to an end? No, but I found an awesome recipe; it is a simple, delicious bread-ish recipe that I just had to try. Because it's bread, and... Well. If I have a favourite savoury food, its crusty bread slathered in butter. And of course, now that I've typed that and put the idea in my head, there is nothing I want more than that, right now.

I should stop babbling about my food obsessions and get on with the information, I know. So here I go.

As evidenced in the title of this post, I made Tarallini, after spotting the recipe on my daily food-blog-athon. Man I'm glad I did. They are shockingly easy to make, and so deliciously satisfying, plus open to lots of flavour playing. I love anything that I can play around with, because I love a versitile recipe I can adapt to multiple situations. Tarallini are the smaller version of the Italian snack food, Taralli, which seems to be a rather intriguing cross between a cracker and a soft pretzel, while being bagel-esque at the same time. However, they are not boiled with soda or anything, just mildly salted water, nor do they contain yeast as a bagel requires. And even more thankfully, you do not have to bathe them in a solution of water and lye as you would a pretzel. Lye, people. That does not inspire me to make traditional pretzels any time soon. I naturally baulk at recipes that require I put on protective gloves and goggles, in order to prepare it. I think I'll just stick to tarallini, which are just as satisfying and much less dangerous. Which is a good thing when you're as prone to accidents as I am.

Tarallini

Ingredients:

250 g plain flour
1/4 c olive oil
100 mls white wine
1/2 tsp salt
Poppy seeds

Method:

1. Place the flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl and mix until well combined.



2. With your mixer on medium, slowly add in your wine until it forms a cohesive ball of dough.



3. Kneed for at least five minutes until the dough becomes elastic.



4.Set a pot of water to boil, and then divide your dough up into sixteen pieces. I found that it was easiest to cut it in half, then cut each half in half... and then continue that process until you have sixteen pieces.



5. Shape your dough. I decided to go with simple and just make rings, which means I rolled them into a ball, then poked my finger through the middle, and then just stretched the dough a little.

6. Drop eight of the tarallini into the boiling water. When they float to the top, they are done and need to be removed from the water and put onto a teatowel so they may dry. Don't put them on paper towels, as they will stick to the tarallini.





7. When everything is done, decorate them with the poppy seeds. I poured some into a little bowl, then dunked each tarallini into the poppy seeds so the got an even coating.



8. Pop into 180 degree oven, until golden brown.

I ate mine with a generous slathering of cream cheese, and it was delicious.

Syrupy Lemon Cake

It's been a while, I know. All I can say is that I'm lazy. And I hate photobucket. It has made uploading photos physically painful, so I just ... didn't. Now I've switched to tinypic and it not only actually uploads the pictures, but it does it in less than half the time. So expect lots of posts, while I work through the back log of recipes I've got stored on my computer, little pieces of paper and (less reliably), in my head. The next few recipes are going to be simple, delicious ones that were great over christmas, or like this one, just when I feel like indulging in some five am baking, but know I don't have the patience for something complicated. Or the ingredients.

Before I get into the recipe side of things, I want to introduce you to the new love of my life.

My Kenwood Patissier MX271 Mixer. It is white and shiny and it makes baking ridiculously easy. I have been wanting a good quality cake mixer for as long as I can remember, but in New Zealand, such thing don't come cheap. The iconic KitchenAid? Nearly a thousand dollars. Anything else of quality? All over four hundred and fifty dollars. My purse wept little patent leather tears at the idea. But then, the christmas sales! And the presents! And my parents rock, because they some how managed to find a brand new Kenwood Patissier for a ridiculously good price, and I am beyond happy. It makes baking so much easier, and it's quiet. So very quiet. I have previously used those electric hand mixers, which certainly have their use, but goodness they're loud. Beyond loud, actually. They take the definition of loud, and then pervert it. So in short, I love my new baby, and if you can, I'd definately suggest investing in a good cake mixer.

Anyway, the recipe. Yum. My family has a little bit of a love affair with citrus, and if I ever had any doubt as to why, it's recipes like this that smack me on the back of the head and call me an idiot. What do I love about this cake? It's so easy, and there are no ingredients you'll have to leave the house for. Not even sour cream. I know right? A lemon cake without sour cream, or buttermilk, or something extra creamy and bad for you? Such a concept is so foreign to me I was in mild shock when I stumbled upon this gem. If you're worried that it may not be moist, fear not. This cake, as the title might suggest, has a syrup that after stabbing the cake with a tooth pick, you pour over and let it seep in. Sweet, tangy and moist. What more could you ask from a lemon cake?

Lemon Cake Batter

120g softened butter*
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c flour
1tsp baking powder
Zest of one lemon - or more, if you like.
Generous pinch of salt

*Cue tangent: American recipes and butter drive me insane. One stick, half a cup, ounces! Grams people, grams.

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar until they are nice and fluffy. As there is much more sugar than butter, you'll need to mix for at least a few minutes to get the right consistency.



2. Adding one at a time, and beating for about a minute in between, crack in the eggs.



3. Then in true Two Cups of Flour fashion, simply throw everything else into the bowl and combine.





4. Spoon into whatever baking mould you like. I had just purchased some cute mini bunt moulds, so I decided to use those. As you can see, getting the mixture in to the moulds was a little more difficult than I anticipated. But the heat of the oven melts the mixture down a bit, enabling it to smooth out.



Lemon Syrup

1/4 c sugar
Juice of one lemon

Method

1. Place the ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat through until the sugar is disolved.





2. Stab your cake(s) with a tooth pick all over, so that when you pour the syrup over, it will seep easily into the cake.

3. Pour the syrup over the cake, making sure it is sitting on a cooling rack, over an area where you do not mind the syrup dripping.

Finally, dust your cake with a little icing sugar, and serve. You could even make a glaze to pour over the cake, or serve it with cream. But it is quite yummy and refreshing just on it's own.

Banana Cream Pie

I'm sorry. It's been a while. Let me make it up to you with pie.

Banana Cream Pie is such an American dessert, and frankly, not one I thought I'd make. I'm just not a huge banana fan, unless it comes in a muffin or loaf. That way the texture is completely erradicated and I only have to deal with the flavour. That's the one reason I don't eat Banoffe Pie more often - I don't like the slimey texture bananas inevitably take on. But this recipe, this one is delicious, and gave me great ideas for repurposing the Banoffe Pie.

I was a little bit scared of this pie to start with - it involves fast work on the element, as well as cornflour. Back in my early days of baking (read: eleven/twelve years old), I had some... not so pleasant experiences with cornflour, and have since harboured an irrational fear of what it might do to my hard work. But thanks to this pie, I have since gotten over my dramatics and used the technique elsewhere, too. Thank you, Banana Cream Pie. Other than the element/cornflour factor, this pie includes nothing else remotely challenging in the cooking process and thought a little time consuming, is very easy to make. It's also wonderful for making in advance, and leaving in the fridge for the day.

Banana Cream Pie

Pie Shell
1 1/2 cup flour
120g butter, melted
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk

1. As with all my pie shells, this is a throw-everything-in-the-bowl-at-once job. So do that, and mix. You should end up with a crumbly textured dough. If you want, you can knead it together and roll it out. But I never bother.



2. Roll or press it into a pie tin - I prefer the ones with the loose bottoms. It makes removal easier.



3. Bake blind for around fifteen minutes in an oven heated to 180 degrees celcius, until it is golden at the edges and cooked, and then remove from the oven and let cool completely.



Banana Pastry Cream
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornstartch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 2 ripe bananas*
1 tablespoon lemon juice

*The original recipe calls for one, and then layers pieces of banana under the pastry cream layer. I wasn't into that idea, so I added more banana to the pastry cream.

1. Place 3/4 of the cup of milk, and three tablespoons of the sugar, into a saucepan and heat until it just begins to bubble.

2. In a second bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Then in a second, smaller bowl, mix together the remaining milk and cornstarch. Then pour the milk mixture into the eggs.



3. Once the milk has begun to bubble, slowly pour it into the egg mix, making sure you don't scramble the eggs.

4. Pour it back into the saucepan and cook over a medium heat until it thickens and comes to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, remove it from the heat and mix in your vanilla. Then set it aside and let it cool.



5. Add your chopped banana and lemon juice to a blender, and puree. I also found that sieving the mixture after gave you an even silkier texture. Then mix the banana and lemon puree into the pastry cream.





6. Place a piece of cling film over the pastry cream - right down into the bowl, so that it touches the cream, which discourages a skin growning over the top of the pastry cream.



You're now finished with it until it comes time to assemble the pie!

Chocolate Ganache
4 ounces of chocolate*
1/2 cup cream.
1/2 cup chopped pecans
* I prefer to use milk chocolate for a milder taste, but dark chocolate also works wonderfully.

1. Heat your chocolate and cream over a low to medium heat until smooth. Set aside for a moment.

Assembly

1. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the cooked pie base, and then slowly pour over the ganache, so as not to disrupt the pecans. Set it aside to cool for ten minutes.



2. Once the ganache has set smooth over the pastry cream, and pop back in the fridge while you whip some more cream.



3. Once the cream is whipped, spread it over the rest of the pie filling, and then sprinkle with chocolate. Tada!




Yuuum.