Fudgy butterscotch and white chocolate chip cookies

Ok, I just couldn't help doing just one more post on chocolate chips. In my defense, I'd like to say that I wanted to do a great service to white chocolate chip aficionados who might have missed out on this great recipe for the fudgyiest most fudgy butterscotch and white chocolate chip cookies that ever were made.

A word of warning-these cookies are highly addictive.

The butterscotch chips used in this recipe are crunchy ones, not the ones that can be melted. If unavailable, you can replace them with white or dark chocolate chips.

So without further preamble, we get right to the recipe.

The dough

Butterscotch and white chocolate chip cookies 
Ingredients
225 gm flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
200 gm butter
185 gm brown sugar
1 egg
100 gm chocolate chips
100 gm butterscotch chips

Method
Lightly crush the butterscotch chips. Some of them can be left whole.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt, keep aside.
Place butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl, cream using an electric beater.
Add in egg, mix for half a minute then add in both kinds of chips and the flour.
Mix well to combine.
Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between the cookies.
Bake at 170°C for about 15 minutes or till they are a nice golden colour.
Remove from oven, and after about 10 minutes, remove the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for not more than 5 days.
Makes about 30.

Fudgy butterscotch and white chocolate chip cookies

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Cheese and onion pinwheels

Unexpected guests. No, they were not staying for dinner, but didn't mind having a couple of drinks with us. My fridge and pantry were almost like Mother Hubbard's cupboard- almost bare. Not really in a mood to pick up the usual snacks from the nearest store, I felt like a contestant on one of those food game shows- produce a dish with 5 or less items.

A quick rummage through the fridge revealed cheese and the word "onion" popped into my head. Oregano and then the slab of butter caught my eye. So something with pastry it had to be and then the idea for pinwheels took shape.

In no time, the shortcrust pastry was made and while it was chilling in the fridge, I started on the filling.

Processed cheese, a finely chopped onion, the aforementioned oregano ( I guess rosemary would also have been fantastic), pepper and salt. The pastry was rolled out, the cheese mix spread out, rolled up, sliced, a quick egg wash and popped into the oven.

They were excellent with cocktails.

Cheese and onion pinwheels

Ingredients for shortcrust pastry
200 gm plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
100 gm cold unsalted butter, diced
Ice water to mix
1 beaten egg for glazing

Ingredients for cheese and onion filling
75 gm processed cheese, grated
1 onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon oregano
Freshly milled pepper, to taste
A pinch of salt

Method
Sieve flour and salt into a mixing bowl, rub in butter till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, gather together the crumbs very gently till the mixture forms a dough.
Do not knead or overwork the dough as the pastry will be tough.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and keep in the fridge for 1/2 hour.
Mix together all the ingredients for the filling.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
On a clean worktop, sprinkle a little flour, place the pastry on it and roll into an 8"x12" rectangle, keeping the edges straight.
With the longer edge facing you, spread the cheese filling evenly over, leaving the top 1/2 " plain.
Roll up tightly into a neat roll.
Use a sharp knife and slice into 1/2 " pieces.
Lay the slices on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Brush with beaten egg and bake for about 15-20 minutes or till golden brown.

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Garlic, cheese and spring onion twist

Do you like making bread?
Do you consider yeast a beast?
Do you follow a recipe for a yeast dough to a T?

I remember the first time I baked a cake - 14 years old, reading through the recipe at least 35 times, the sleepless night before. Then on D day, ingredients meticulously weighed out, every step read 10 times, and then proceeding to mix the batter. Then panic setting in when I realised I didn't know how to tell if the batter had been creamed enough, comforting myself that anyway, even if the cake flopped, no one would know as it was only for home consumption. Finally, the batter poured into the tin and dispatched into the oven. And the interminable wait- those were days when ovens did not have glass doors. Then the unmistakable aroma of cake baking. Opening the oven door at least 10 times to poke a skewer in to test if it was done.
And finally it was over. Baking time up, skewer test showing all was well and mitten-ed hands pulling the cake tin out of the oven. A 10 minute wait before the cake was flipped onto a wire rack. And too impatient to wait anymore, a slice carved out and the best darn cake anyone ever made (or so I thought!) was right in front of me...

I went through these same emotions when I started baking with yeast. By now, I was an expert at weighing  out ingredients. But yeast dough? How do you know if you've added enough water? Kneaded the dough sufficiently? Allowed it to rise long enough? Over-proofed? Under-proofed?

My aha moment came when I started experimenting with my first bread machine. No more huffing and puffing while kneading - the machine did all that and then it all began to make sense. Early man made bread, early man had no weighing scales, early man followed no recipes so why couldn't I improvise too?

  
So, after more flops than I care to remember, the intricacies of yeast became less mysterious. The basic dough is, well, basic. To an amount of flour, add some sugar, salt, yeast, maybe some fat, maybe some gluten and water of course. Knead till the dough is  springy and doesn't stick to your hands. Leave to rise, punch down, shape, then allow to rise a second time. Pop it into a really hot oven and bake.

How difficult is that?

And then there was no stopping me. I was not happy with the usual bread baked in a loaf tin. I wanted to bake buns, free form loaves, flatbreads, plaits, buns stuffed with chicken, with chocolate, apples, cheese, fish, mushrooms. And this garlic, cheese and spring onion twist which is my latest obsession.

This roll is a little messy to shape but more than makes up in taste, a classic combination of garlic, cheese and spring onions.

So now, do the twist with me!

Gather the ingredients. Knead the dough, and after the first proving, roll it out into a square. Spread a thin layer of butter over the top, sprinkle the garlic, cheese and spring onion mix along one side. Roll it up, Swiss roll style. With a really sharp knife, slice it half length-ways. Push the halves together, cut sides facing up and twist the dough.

When well twisted, place the dough on the baking sheet and shape it into a circle. Wet one end with a tiny bit of water and stick the other end to it.
Glaze the top with beaten egg, leave to proof for about 20 minutes then place in a preheated oven to bake.

Garlic, cheese and spring onion twist

Ingredients
250 gm flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp gluten
2 tsps sugar
1 1/2  tsp yeast
2 tbsp oil
3/4 cup warm water

1 egg, beaten, for glazing

Filling
2 tbsp soft butter
6-8 garlic pips, chopped
3 cubes Britannia cheese, grated
5 stalks spring onions, remove bulbs and slice the green leaves
1/8 tsp salt

Method
Sift flour and salt onto a worktop, mix through improver, gluten, sugar and yeast.
Make a well in the centre, pour in water and oil, mix till it all comes together into a sticky dough.
Knead till the dough is soft and elastic and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes.
Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm spot for about an hour or till the dough doubles in size.

Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the base of a baking sheet.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling, keep aside.
Remove the clingfilm from the bowl, punch down the dough to expel all the air.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured worktop, press into a flat disc and roll out into a 30 cm. square.
Spread the butter all over the square, spoon the filling only along the length of the dough closest to you.
Now roll up the dough as neatly as you can, tucking in stray bits of filling that may fall out.

Roll the finished shape back and forth to seal the edge and keep the shape. Dust a sharp knife with flour and cut the roll lengthwise into two halves.
Push the sides together, filling facing the ceiling and twist the whole roll.
Wet the ends with a bit of water and join them.

Transfer onto the prepared baking sheet, glaze with beaten egg and leave for the second rising.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
The second proofing should be for 20 minutes.
Place the tray in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or till the roll is golden brown.
Tap the roll and if it sounds hollow, the roll is cooked through.
Carefully peel it off the paper and place the twist on a wire rack.

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Chocolate chip and marzipan loaf cake

Marzipan in a slice of cake. How lush can a slice of cake taste? We've all had slices of wedding cakes covered with marzipan and fondant. Then there's simnel cake, a fruit cake baked with a layer of marzipan in the middle and another one on top of the batter.

But this is a butter cake, the batter studded with chocolate chips and a layer of marzipan in the middle.

Susannah Blake's book "500 Cakes" has a recipe for such a cake. She gives an option of using candied cherries or chocolate chips. I preferred the latter. The marzipan was left over from a wedding cake I had done recently.

Quite an easy recipe- a creamed batter with chocolate chips mixed in. The recipe asks for the marzipan to be grated but mine was quite crumbly thanks to the time it had spent in the freezer.

The marzipan itself was a pretty simple thing to do- home ground almond powder, granulated sugar, icing sugar, a little egg white and some lime juice and brandy kneaded into a paste.

I played around with the measurement of the ingredients and when the loaf finally came out of the oven, it looked like any other loaf cake. What did I expect? But when it was sliced, aah, that was a different story.

Even though I had weighed out my batter, put exactly half in the pan, sprinkled the crumbled marzipan over evenly and then topped with the remaining batter, this is what it looked like after baking:

I had a look at the baked cake in the book and found the same wavy line of marzipan. So, then on to tasting.

Warm, buttery, a little dense and the lush taste of almond marzipan. Globules of chocolate chips yielding to the bite. Flavour overload.

Chocolate chip and marzipan loaf cake

Ingredients
150 gm flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
180 gm butter
150 gm sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
40 gm almond powder
125 gm marzipan
110 gm dark chocolate chips

Method
Grease and base line an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" loaf pan.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt, keep aside.
In a mixing bowl, place butter and sugar and beat on low speed till well combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time till mixture is creamy.
Mix in almond powder, blend it in then fold in flour in three lots.
Stir through the chocolate chips.
Scoop half the batter into the tin, crumble the marzipan in an even layer over the surface then top with the remaining batter.
Bake in a  preheated 170°C oven for about 40 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C for another 15 minutes.
Test the cake with a skewer and when done, remove from the oven.
Allow to cool for about 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

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Plum and blueberry yoghurt cake

I  like fresh fruit in cake. I don't mean cakes decorated with fruit as in a black forest gateau but fresh fruit chopped up and mixed in a batter and baked. As in an apple cake, a peach cake or even a pineapple upside down cake.

A few weeks ago, blueberries hit the markets. Now, fresh blueberries in Chennai markets are as common as snow in the Sahara- it's never happened (or maybe just once!). The lot I bought was used to make muffins but while the muffins tasted nice, I thought it would have been better to eat the berries on their own or as part of a fruit salad.

I've been hoarding some dried wild blueberries from a recent trip abroad and have been wanting to bake them along with some purple plums sitting in my fruit tray. So the hunt for a cake recipe started. Since the plums were tart, I wanted a batter which would be sweet enough to counteract the acidity of the fruit. Finally I settled on a recipe from smittenkitchen.com.

Juicy purple plums

Plums and dried wild blueberries

I halved the plums and chopped them in 1/2 " dices,

Tart overdose with  the addition of limes

used only the grated rind of the limes.

Plum and blueberry yoghurt loaf

After baking, the original recipe asks for 1/3 cup of lemon juice to be boiled with a tablespoon of sugar. I made a syrup with 50 gm sugar and 60 ml rum which was then spooned over the loaf.

Moist plum and blueberry yoghurt cake

There were a few changes I made to the original recipe, among them using melted and cooled butter instead of oil, increasing the vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon. Also, adding 1/4 cup dried blueberries and 1 1/2 cups of chopped plums instead of blueberries as in the original recipe.

Plum and blueberry yoghurt cake

Ingredients
200 gm flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup yoghurt
220 gm sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
1 tsp vanilla extract
110 gm melted and cooled butter
1/4 cup dried blueberries (can substitute with currants)
1 1/2 cups diced plums

Syrup
2 tbsp water
50 gm sugar
60 ml rum

Method
Grease and base line an 8 1/2"x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, keep aside.
Break the eggs into another bowl, beat them well then beat in the yoghurt, sugar, zest, vanilla extract and the butter.
Keep aside 2 tbsp of the flour mix and then fold in the rest into the egg and yoghurt mixture.
Sprinkle the remaining flour over the plums and blueberries, stir gently to coat.
Fold them lightly through the batter.
Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, bake in a preheated 170°C oven for about 45 minutes.

For the syrup, place water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to boil.
When all the sugar has dissolved, turn off the flame and add the rum.

When the cake is baked, turn it out carefully onto a wire rack.
Place a plate underneath the rack and spoon the syrup all over the top.

It was a delicious, moist cake. The rum gave it a bit of a kick. It was even better the next day, warmed up a little and served with ice cream. Next time, I would like to make it a plain cake without even the syrup.

And bake the plums in a tart.

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AAHAR- International Food and Hospitality Fair

The International Food and Hospitality Fair, AAHAR, at the Chennai Trade Centre is worth a visit. Lots of stalls showcasing equipment for the hotel and catering industry, a cooking competition for chefs and many stalls with ready made food and processed food on display and for retail sale. The exhibition is on till 25th August.

Here are some things specially of interest to home bakers.

Artisan series Kitchen Aid from Mittal International

Only the red Kitchenaid is available, with a discount if booked at the Trade Centre by tomorrow.

Pasta maker with cutter, pasta drier and the biscuit press at the Currimbhoys stall

Chocolate transfer sheets, 3D edible cake tops, decorative chocolate moulds, dragees,
 Colourmist  food colour sprays from Bakersville

Hopefully, Vivo whipping cream will hit Chennai shelves next month.

Vivo whipped cream on cakes:

And then some more!

Appetizers at the competition:

And desserts:

And for the finale, a vegetable carving that deserves a place in the spotlight:



A close up of this work of art:

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Home made hand kneaded bread

Years ago, on a cold, rainy day in Hyderabad, I made my first loaf of bread. Those were the pre-internet days- I had nothing to guide me except a recipe from a book. I followed all the instructions but had no idea if the dough had been sufficiently kneaded. And being a cold day, the dough wasn't rising. I warmed up my bowl, put the dough in it, wrapped it in a sheet of plastic and covered the whole thing in a quilt.

After some 4 hours, I found my dough had indeed risen and so proceeded with the recipe. The aroma of baking bread filled my tiny flat and when the loaf finally came out of the oven, it looked so gorgeous. However when sliced, it was dry and crumbly. It took me quite a few years to have the guts to bake bread again.

Bread is the one thing every baker aspires to make. And make it well. Most people regard breadmaking a challenge but once they get the hang of it, the joy of being able to bake a loaf of  home made bread cannot be measured.

If you are new at baking bread, the easiest thing to do would be to bake a loaf of white bread. I prefer to knead on a worktop.

Gather your ingredients:

Butter, salt, gluten, instant yeast, sugar, bread improver, plain flour, warm water (approximate). If using bread flour, do not add gluten and bread improver.

Mix the dry ingredients, make a well in the centre and pour in the water and add the butter.

Place your fingers into the well and slowly start mixing. Keep incorporating the flour, use a scraper to push the flour into the well till the whole thing comes together into a dough. Ideally, the dough should be a tiny bit sticky. Resist the temptation to add more flour.

Kneading activates yeast and develops gluten. Stretch the dough by putting the heel of your palm on top of the dough and pushing it away from you, the other hand holds the rest of the dough in place. Roll or fold the stretched dough back, give the dough a quarter turn and repeat the process. In the picture above, you can see the gluten beginning to develop. You will also find the dough becoming less sticky. If it needs more water, wet your hand and keep kneading. How do you know if your dough has enough water? Pinch it. If your fingers can touch through the dough, there is probably enough water. How do you know if the dough has been kneaded sufficiently? Form the dough into a ball and tap it lightly with your finger. It should leave a little depression that springs back quickly.

At the end of kneading, round the dough into a smooth ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave undisturbed till it doubles in size. This is the first proofing and should take about an hour.

My dough took about an hour to rise. As the dough rises, this is what it looks like. Underproofed dough will not have these bubbles.

At the end of the first proofing, remove the clingfilm and push your hand into the dough to expel all the air. By doing this, you are preparing the dough for the second proofing.

Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on the worktop, knead briefly then form it into a ball. Sprinkle the worktop with flour and place the dough on it.

Grease a loaf tin. Mine was 19 cm x 9 cm. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an oblong, the same length as the tin but three times as wide. Fold the dough into 3 and place it in the tin with the fold underneath and leave for the second proofing in a kitchen drawer of shelf. I prefer not to cover the top of the tin as sometimes, while removing the covering, the dough sticks to it.

When the dough rises to come up to the top of the tin, bake it in a  200°C oven for about 20 minutes. The top should have a nice brown colour and when the side of the tin is tapped it should sound hollow.

Remove the loaf tin from the oven and unmould the bread. Let it cool a little before slicing it.

Enjoy your hand kneaded, home made bread.

Home made bread

Ingredients
250 gm plain flour
3/4 tsp yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp gluten
1/2 tsp bread improver
1 tbsp soft butter
About 150 ml warm water

Method
Grease a loaf tin.
Sift flour onto a worktop, mix in all the dry ingredients.
Make a well in the centre, pour in almost all the water and add the butter.
Using fingertips, slowly incorporate the flour into liquid till all the flour is mixed into a dough.
Knead well and quite vigorously for about 10 minutes so as to get a smooth, springy dough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise till double in size.
Remove the clingfilm, push down the dough to expel all the air, knead it again briefly then place it on a flour dusted worktop.
Roll it out into an oval three times wider than the loaf tin.
Fold the dough into 3, place it seam side down into the prepared tin.
Leave it to proof a second time in a kitchen cupboard till the dough rises to the top of the tin.
Bake in a preheated 200°C oven for about 20-25 minutes or till the loaf has a nice brown colour.
Rap the side of the tin sharply, if it sounds hollow, the bread is baked.
Remove from the oven and after a couple of minutes, unmould onto a wire rack.

Update: This bread will bake beautifully even if the improver is omitted.

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