Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Fleur de Sel Cardamom Caramel Filling

Another great recipe from Baking Obsession, I really liked the flavor and texture combination. And besides, they look rather elegant!




makes about 27 cookies

180g flour
30g cocoa
1/2 teasp kosher salt
110g butter, softened
100g dark brown sugar
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 egg (room temperature)

filling
90g store-bought soft caramels
1/2 teasp kosher salt
1.5 tablespoon milk
5 cardamon pods, crushed to a fine powder



Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt to combine. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add the egg and continue mixing until light and well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough forms.
Roll the dough into regular 1-inch balls. Place them onto a baking sheet. Using a handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie; make it quite deep and about a penny in diameter. Chill the formed cookies for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, covered with parchment or plastic, before baking.
Bake the cookies, in batches, for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies appear set. Transfer the cookies on the sheet on a cooling rack and, using the same spoon handle, deepen the indentations made earlier; don’t poke through though, be gentle. You do want this extra space for a delicious filling. Transfer the cookies to the cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling.

Put the caramels, milk, salt, cardamom into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on “medium” for about a minute, pausing the microwave and stirring a couple of times, until the caramel is melted and mixture is smooth. Let it cool down for a couple of minutes and fill the cookies. Top with a few fleur de sel crystals if you wish.
The cookies can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container.

A Breakfast with Crumpets *

A delicious breakfast, according to a recipe from the Guardian.uk.
Can't wait until next weekend to have them again :-))





Makes 4 (for 2 persons).

150g plain white flour
about 230ml lukewarm semi-skimmed milk (or a mix of milk and water)
2g powdered dried yeast
4g salt
1/3 tsp baking powder
A little sunflower or vegetable oil


In a bowl, whisk the flour, milk, water and yeast into a rather runny batter the consistency of single cream. Cover with cling-film and leave for an hour until really bubbly (or three to four hours, if need be).

Heat a heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter. Lightly grease the crumpet rings and pan. Put one ring in the pan, fill to just below the top – the batter should stay in the ring and lots of holes should appear on the surface after a minute or two. (If it dribbles out underneath, it is too thin, so whisk a little more flour into your batter mix. If lots of holes don't form, it's too thick, so whisk in some water.) Assuming your test crumpet is OK, after five minutes or so, when the surface is just set, flip it over, ring and all. (If the cooked base seems too dark, turn down the heat.) Cook for two to three minutes, until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter in batches. Butter and eat at once, or cool on a wire rack for toasting later.

Sweet Potato and Blueberry Muffins

When it comes to muffins I can come up with endless combinations or flavors and textures. Those have an autumn touch with sweet potatoes an blueberries, delicious.





For 6 muffins
- 100g flour
- 150g cooked sweet potato (about 1 small yellow type)
- 1 good teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) of sodium bicarbonate
- 30g sugar
- a pinch of clove powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 80ml milk
- 30ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- about 100g blueberries (frozen is fine)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice



Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mix the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and reserve.

Peel the sweet potato, cut it in rough chunks and steam them until cooked. Pass them through a sieve with a spoon, keep the purée light and fluffy.
Mix the flour, baking powders, sugar, salt, clove powder and sift them into a bowl. Add the sweet potato purée and mix gently. Sprinkle with blueberries.
In another bowl, mix the beaten egg, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix with a wooden spoon. A few turns are enough, the mix has to remain lumpy.
Divide the preparation among the muffin cups, put them in the oven (lower shelf) and lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.

Golden Pancakes for Breakfast

Serves 3

400ml flour (including 1/10 of whole flour, optional)
2 teasp baking powder
50ml sugar
a good pinch of salt
80ml milk
2 eggs
a few drops of vanilla essence
a knob of butter



In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Crack in the eggs and mix with a whisk. Add the milk and vanilla essence and mix until the batter is homogeneous.
Heat up a knob of butter in a frying pan. Over low heat, pour in the batter with a ladle to form pancakes of about 15cm diameter and 1cm thick. Bake for about 2min on each sides over low heat, until golden. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Serve with butter, honey, marmelade or maple sirup.

Strawberry Shortcake (Cream Scones) *

The basis for these shortcakes are cream scones, for which I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking. The scones are cut in half, filled with marinated strawberries, and topped with whipped cream.
Because scones might not be the easiest pastries to bake, the website gives us a few tips. It tells us it is best if all the ingredients are cold, to add the liquid to the dry ingredients all at once, and then to mix everything together quickly and lightly. Also, if we twist the cookie cutter through the scone dough, rather than cutting straight down, the scones will rise higher during baking.
Scones can be baked in advance and heated up shortly just before being topped with strawberries. They are also excellent at breakfast with butter and your favorite jam.






For 7-8 scones
- 280gr all purpose flour (an alternative: 255gr all purpose flour and 25gr integral flour, for some edge)
- 50gr sugar
- 10gr baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 76gr butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100ml whipping cream

Filling and topping for 2 persons
- about 200gr fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon liqueur (Kirsh, Grans Marnier, Maibu etc..)
- about 80ml whipping cream for the topping



Preheat the oven and rack to 200 degrees C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingers. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture at once to the flour mixture. Mix with your hands until just combined, and transfer to a floured surface.

Pat the dough into a circle that is about 18 cm round and 3-4cm thick. Then, using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds (I only had a heart-shaped cutter). Place the rounds on a cookie sheet, spacing them a few cm apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking. Put the rack at middle level of the oven.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (23min for us) at 190 degrees or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.


Wash and slice the strawberries. Place about one third of the strawberries in a large bowl and crush them with a fork. Add the remaining sliced strawberries, along with the sugar and liquor. Set aside to macerate at room temperature for about 30 to 60 minutes.

To serve: Cut the scones in half and place the bottom half of the scone on a dessert plate. Top with some of the strawberries. Place the top half of the scone on the strawberries. Top with whipped cream and a few more strawberries. If there is any juice from the strawberries, drizzle a little over the top of the scone. Serve immediately.


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La base pour ce dessert sont les "cream scones", que l'on peut également manger au petit déjeuner ou avec le thé. J'ai suivi la recette de Joy of Baking pour ces scones.
Il est conseillé de garder les ingrédients (surtout le beurre) bien froids avant de commencer, et d'ajouter les ingrédients liquides aux ingrédients secs en une seule fois. Apres cela il s'agit d'être rapide et de ne pas trop mélanger la pâte.
Ces scones peuvent être faits à l'avance et légèrement réchauffés avant de les garnir de fraises.


Pour 7-8 scones
- 280gr de farine
- 50gr de sucre
- 10gr de poudre à lever
- une pincée de sel
- 76gr de beurre
- 1 oeuf
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 100ml de crème fleurette

Garniture pour 2 personnes
- environ 200gr de fraises
- 1 c.café de sucre en poudre
- 1 c.café de liqueur (Kirsch, Malibu, Grand Marnier...)
- environ 80ml de crème pour chantilly


Préchauffer le four et la plaque à 200 degrés.

Dans un grand saladier, mélanger la farine, le sucre, la poudre à lever et le sel.
Couper le beurre (froid) en tous petits morceaux, et l'incorporer à ce mélange, en l'écrasant avec les doigts comme pour un crumble.
Dans un bol, mélanger la crème, l'oeuf battu, l'extrait de vanille. Ajouter ces ingrédients liquides au melange précédent, en une seule fois.
Mélanger rapidement avec les doigts jusqu'à ce que tout soit lié, et transférer sur une surface plane légèrement farinée.
Aplanir le pâton à la main en un cercle de 3-4cm d'épaisseur.
Découper des cercles (ou autres formes) à l'emporte-pièces et les déposer sur du papier cuisson en les espacant de quelques centimètres. Badigeonner le dessus des scones d'un peu de crème pour qu'ils prennent une belle couleur dorée à la cuisson.
Les faire cuire pendant 20-25min à 190 degrés en positionnant la plaque au milieu du four.


Laver les fraises et les couper en morceaux. A l'aide d'une fourchette, écraser un tiers des fraises. Ajouter le reste en morceaux, le sucre et la liqueur, et laisser macérer pendant 30min- 1hr.
Pour servir: Couper les scones en deux. Mettre des fraises sur la base, recouvrir avec l'autre moitié, de la crème en chantilly, et encore quelques fraises.

Pita Bread *

These are the Pita breads we used for the Shish Taouk kebabs. By some sort of magic, they puff up while being baked, leaving a hole in the middle. They can therefore be stuffed with anything, mainly for warm kebabs but you can also make sandwiches out of them.




for 6 Pita Breads (kebabs for 2 persons)
- 200gr high gluten (strong) flour
- 50gr white flour
- 3gr dry yeast
- 5gr salt
- 7.5gr sugar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 150ml tepid water


Dissolve the yeast in tepid water and let it get bubbly for 10 minutes to activate it.
Sift the flours, salt and sugar into a large bowl and make a well. Add the yeast mixture little by little, while mixing with one hand. When it is homogeneous incorporate the olive oil. Transfer to a flat surface and knead for 15 minutes. Form a ball with the dough, place it in the bowl and cover with a wet cloth. Let it rise for about 2 hours in a draft-free place (inside the oven for instance) until it has doubled in volume.
Divide in 6 equal parts and form regular little balls wich each of them. Let them rest (bench time) under a cloth for 15 minutes, while you pre-heat the oven (rack included) to 230 degrees.
Flatten the balls with a rolling pin, to a rather thin circle of about 15cm (similar to rolling out a small pizza dough). Put them on cooking sheet and bake at 220-230 degrees for 7 min (depending on the oven) with the rack on lower position. You will probably have space for only 2-3 Pita at once in your oven. Just repeat the process for the rest of the balls.
They are cooked when they have swelled up and have a nice golden color.


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Pour 6 pains Pita (kebabs pour 2 personnes)
- 200gr de farine de gluten
- 50gr de farine pour pâtisserie
- 3gr de levure sèche
- 5gr de sel
- 7,5gr de sucre
- 1c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 150ml d'eau tiède


Diluer la levure dans l'eau tiède pour l'activer et la laisser pendant 10 minutes jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.

Tamiser les farines, le sel et le sucre dans un grand saladier, et faire un puits. Ajouter petit à petit la levure et l'eau, en touillant avec le bout des doigts. Lorsque la pâte est homogène, incorporer l'huile d'olive. Transposer sur une surface de travail et pétrir pendant 15 minutes. Former une boule et la remettre dans le saladier. Recouvrir d'un torchon humide et laisser lever la pâte pendant environ 2 heures dans un endroit sans courants d'air (dans le four par exemple).

Après la levée, dégazer la pâte et former 6 boules de taille égale. Les recouvrir d'un torchon et les laisser reposer pendant 15 minutes. Pendant ce temps, préchauffer le four et la plaque de cuisson à 230 degrés.

Abaisser la pâte des Pita avec un rouleau a pâtisserie jusqu'à obtenir des disques assez fins d'environ 15cm de diamètre, comme pour des petites pizzas. Déposer les disques sur du papier cuisson, et les cuire à 220-230 degrés sur la plaque au bas du four, pendant environ 7 minutes. Vous aurez probablement de la place dans le four pour seulement deux ou trois disques à la fois. Répétez l'opération pour tous les pains.
Ils sont cuits quand ils ont gonflé et pris une belle couleur dorée.

Double Chocolate and Banana Muffins

I am quite proud of those muffins because they are my own recipe and they came out really delicious.
For all the chocolate lovers out there....





For 6 muffins
- 120gr flour
- 1 good teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) of sodium bicarbonate
- 40gr brown sugar
- 35gr ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (10gr)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 banana, cut into small bits
- 70gr good quality dark chocolate, chopped into chunks of about 1/2cm
- 1 egg
- 80ml milk
- 30ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mix the flour, baking powders, almond powder, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and sift them into a bowl. Make a well. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and banana bits.
In another bowl, mix the beaten egg, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix with a wooden spoon. A few turns are enough, the mix has to remain lumpy.
Divide the preparation among the muffin cups, put them in the oven (lower shelf) and lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.


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Qui peut résister à des muffins au chocolat?....




Pour 6 muffins
- 120gr de farine
- 1 c.café (bombée) de levure chimique
- 1 c.café (rase) de bicarbonate de soude
- 40gr de cassonade
- 35gr d'amandes en poudre
- 1 c.soupe de cacao en poudre non sucré (10gr)
- une pincée de sel
- 70gr de chocolat de bonne qualité, en morceaux de environ 1/2cm
- 1 banane, coupée en morceaux
- 1 oeuf
- 80ml de lait
- 30ml d'huile d'olive
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille



Préchauffer le four à 210 degrés.
Mélanger la farine, les poudres à lever, les amandes en poudre, le cacao, la cassonade, le sel, et les tamiser dans un saladier. Faire un puits. Répartir le chocolat et la banane coupée sur ces ingrédients secs.
Dans un autre saladier ou un bol, mélanger l'oeuf battu, le lait, l'huile d'olive et l'extrait de vanille. Verser sur les ingrédients secs et mélanger en quelques tours de main seulement. Le mélange doit rester grumeleux pour des muffins légers et non élastiques.
Répartir la préparation dans les moules à muffins. Enfourner (niveau bas) et réduire la chaleur à 180 degrés. Cuire pendant 25 minutes.

Petit Campagne aux Graines de Fenouil

This was only the second time we tried to bake our own bread, and it came out surprisingly well, we'll do it again.
Fennel seeds give a nice anis flavour to the bread and it will go really well with meat dishes, beer and wine, but maybe not with breakfast this time.


For 1 small Campagne

- 140gr high-gluten flour
- 40gr soft flour
- 20gr whole wheat flour
- 3gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 6gr sugar
- 4gr dry yeast
- 125ml tepid water
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, slightly crushed


Dissolve the yeast in tepid water and leave it for about 10 minutes until it gets bubbly.
In a bowl, mix the flours, sugar and salt, and make a well. Add the yeast mixture little by little while mixing with one hand. Continue mixing until the dough is homogeneous and does not stick to the hand anymore.
Transfer to a flat surface and knead the dough for 30 minutes (be patient!).
Form a ball that you put back in the bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise until it has doubled in volume (inside the oven works well). We put it in a 35 degree oven for 1h15min.
Remove the dough from the bowl, add the fennel seeds and knead again for a couple of minutes to incorporate them. Let it rest for 15 minutes (cover).
Form a nice and slightly flattened ball (it will be the final shape of the bread), and put back to rise for another 45 minutes at 35 degrees. We also add a small cup of boiled water in the oven during that second rising time.
Remove the bread from the oven while you preheat it to 220 degrees, and put it in a safe place away from drafts (you can loosely protect it with tin foil).
When the oven is warm, lightly (very lightly!) spray the bread with water and sprinkle with whole weat flour. Make a couple of incisions with a sharp knife, and bake at 220 degrees for 25-30min (26min for us, middle shelf).
This bread is best on the same day.


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Les graines de fenouil donnent à ce Campagne un petit goût anisé très intéressant, qui accompagnera un plat de viande avec du vin ou de la bierre. Pas pour le petit déjeuner cette fois, mais vraiment bon!


- 140gr de farine de gluten
- 40gr de farine blanche pour boulangerie
- 20gr de farine complète
- 3gr de sel (1c.café)
- 6gr de sucre
- 4 grammes de levure sèche
- 125ml d'eau tiède
- 2 c.café de graines de fenouil, légèrement écrasées.


Delayer la levure dans l'eau tiède pour l'activer, et laisser pendant environ 10 minutes jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.
Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines, le sucre et le sel, et faire un puits.
Ajouter peu à peu l'eau et la levure en touillant avec une main. Quand la pâte ne colle plus aux doigt, transférer sur une surface plane et pétrir pendant 30 minutes (courage!).
Former une boule et la mettre dans un saladier. Couvrir avec un torchon de cuisine ou du film alimentaire et laisser lever jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait doublé de volume. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant 1h15min.
Au bout de ce temps, dégazer et incorporer les graines de fenouil en pétrissant pendant environ 2 minutes. Laisser reposer pendant 15 minutes à température ambiante (couvrir).
Former ensuite une belle boule régulière légèrement aplatie, qui sera la forme finale du pain. Mettre à lever une seconde fois. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant environ 45 minutes, avec une petite tasse d'eau bouillie.
Retirer du four et préchauffer ce dernier à 220 degres. Mettre le pain à l'abri des courants d'air pendant ce temps.
Quand le four est chaud, vaporiser très légèrement le pain avec de l'eau, et saupoudrer de farine complète. Faire 2 ou 3 entailles avec un couteau tranchant, et enfourner pendant 25 à 30 minutes (26min pour nous, niveau moyen).
Ce pain est meilleur dégusté le jour même.

Fluffy Naan Bread

Since we cook a lot of Indian curry these days we sometimes want to have Naan bread with it.
This bread is not difficult and doesn't need a lot of kneading at all, which is always a good thing.






for 4 small Naans (2 persons)

- 100gr all purpose flour
- 100gr high gluten flour
- 50gr plain yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter. Alternatively: unsalted butter, melted)
- 80ml tepid water
- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar


Activate the yeast in tepid water for 5-10 minutes until it gets bubbly.
In a bowl, mix the flours, salt, sugar, and make a well. Add the yoghurt and ghee and start mixing with one hand. Add the yeast in water little by little.
Mix everything until you obtain a homogeneous dough and work it with your hand for just a few minutes to incorporate some air. It will be a rather wet and soft batter.
Cover and let it rise in a draft-free place (inside your oven is fine) until it has at least doubled in volume (it can take 3-4 hours).
When it is ready, divide it in 4 equal portions, and form a little ball with each of them. Let them rest again for about 30 minutes in your oven. We put a cup of boiled water beside them during this step to keep the dough moist.
When you are ready to eat, roll out the balls to about 1/2cm and give them an elongated shape.
Heat up a frying pan without any oil or butter. Add 2 Naans at a time and cook over medium heat for a bout 2 minutes on each side. Cover with a lid during that time. Cooking the Naans in a frying pan works much better than in the oven for us.
Enjoy with your favourite curry!


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Pour 4 petits Naans (2 personnes)

- 100gr de farine pour pâtisserie
- 100gr de farine de gluten
- 50gr de yahourt nature
- 2 c.soupe de ghee (beurre clarifié. A defaut, du beurre non salé, fondu)
- 80ml d'eau tiède
- 1 c.café de levure sèche
- 1 c.café de sel
- 1 c.café de sucre


Activer la levure en la diluant dans l'eau tiède, et laisser pendant 5-10min jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.
Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines, le sucre et le sel, et faire un puits.
Y ajouter le yahourt et le ghee et commencer à mélanger avec une main. Ajouter petit à petit la levure diluée et mélanger jusqu'à obtention d'une pâte homogène.
Travailler la pâte pendant quelques minutes seulement en la soulevant pour incorporer de l'air. Elle ne se détachera pas entièrement des doigts, mais tout va bien.
Couvrir le saladier et mettre à lever dans un endroit sans courants d'air (par exemple dans le four) jusqu'à ce que la pâte ait au moins doublé de volume. Cela peut prendre 3-4 heures.
Au bout de ce temps, diviser en 4 parts égales et former de petites boules.
Les remettre au repos dans le four pendant environ 30 minutes (nous ajoutons un bol d'eau bouillie dans le four pour garder un taux d'humidité élevé).
A l'aide d'un rouleau a pâtisserie, abaisser les boules sur environ 1/2 cm en donnant une forme allongée aux Naans.
Chauffer une poelle sans graisse et faire cuire les Naans à sec, deux à la fois, pendant environ 2 minutes de chaque côté. Couvrir avec un couvercle pendant la cuisson.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins

Baking muffins is supposed to be easy but it always makes me nervous. I think it is quite difficult to obtain the desired texture even if one is careful enough not to overmix the batter.
Anyway, those were the best achievement so far, soft and airy. Feel free to decrease the amount of sugar or oil if you are concerned about calorie intake.


For 6 muffins

- 120gr flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
- 50gr brown sugar
- a good pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons grated coconut
- 40ml oil
- 65ml milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80gr white chocolate
- about 100gr raspberries (frozen also works)



Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Break the chocolate into bits, not too small (about 1/2cm) so that you can still taste the chunks after the muffins are baked.
In a bowl, sift the flour, sugar and baking powders. Mix in the grated coconut, make a well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla extract, oil, pinch of salt.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips and raspberries over the flour mix, add the liquid ingredients and fold everything quite rapidly with a big wooden spoon, being careful not to overmix. The batter has to remain lumpy for the muffins not to be elastic.

Fill 6 muffin cups and put in the oven (on lower shelf). Lower the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.


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Pour 6 muffins au chocolat blanc et framboises

- 120gr de farine
- 1 c.café de levure chimique
- 1 c.café (rase) de bicarbonate de soude
- 50gr de cassonade
- une bonne pincée de sel
- 2 c.soupe de noix de coco rapée
- 40ml d'huile
- 65ml de lait
- 1 oeuf
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 80gr de chocolat blanc
- 100gr de framboises (même congelées)


Préchauffer le four à 210 degrés.
Casser le chocolat blanc en morceaux pas trop petits (environ 1/2cm).

Dans un saladier, tamiser la farine, la cassonade et les poudres a lever. Y ajouter la noix de coco rapée.

Dans un autre saladier, battre l'oeuf, le lait, l'extrait de vanille, l'huile et la pincée de sel.

Répartir les morceaux de chocolat et les framboises sur la farine, ajouter les ingredients liquides et mélanger le tout en quelques tours de mains seulement. Le mélange doit rester grumeleux pour que les muffins soient légers.

Répartir dans les moules à muffins et enfourner (niveau bas). Réduire la chaleur à 180 degrés et cuire pendant 25 minutes.

Heidi's Bread

Do you know Heidi, the little girl that lives in the Swiss Alps with her Grand'pa?
If you have seen the animation you will remember them eating buns that they would split in two, with a side of melted goat cheese.
Here in Japan one can find the popular Heidi's white bread ("Haiji no shiro pan") in bakeries.
I am a big fan of both Heidi and her bread, so here is a recipe, quite successful for a first trial. Huuum, oishiiii....





For 8 small breads

- 200gr flour (high gluten type)
- 4gr dry yeast
- 20gr sugar
- 135ml milk, tepid
- 2,5gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 20gr butter, softened









Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well. With one (clean) hand, mix in the tepid milk, sugar and yeast. Once it has all come together, transfer to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
Put the dough back to the bowl and add butter and salt. Mix everything again, and when it is homogeneous knead it on a flat surface for another 10 minutes.
Form a ball, put it back to the bowl, cover with a cloth or cling film and let it rise in a draft-free place until it has at least doubled in volume. We put it in the oven at 35 degrees for about 70 minutes. The oven is a good place to let the dough rise, even without heating it.

After it has rised, divide the dough into 8 parts and form nice and even little balls.
Let them rest under a cloth for 15 minutes.
Take an edged item (the back of a plastic file folder will do) to make a split in the middle of each bun. Do not use a knife for this because it would completely cut through.
Sprinkle the buns with sifted flour and put them back to a safe place for a second rise. We put them in the oven at 35 degrees for about 70 minutes. To keep them moist and fluffy, put 1 or 2 cups of boiling water beside the buns. Renew the water once during this rising time.

Take out buns and water from the oven and preheat to 240 degrees. When it is ready put the buns in the oven on the lower shelf, and lower the heat to 140 degrees.
Bake them at this temperature for 20min.


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Pour 8 petits pains blancs de Heidi

- 200gr de farine de gluten
- 4gr de levure de boulanger sèche
- 20gr de sucre
- 135ml de lait tiède
- 2,5gr de sel (1 c. café)
- 20gr de beurre ramoli


Mettre la farine dans un grand saladier et faire un puits. Y ajouter le lait, le sucre et la levure en touillant avec une main. Une fois la pâte homogène, la transférer sur une surface plane et pétrir pendant 10 minutes.
Remettre la pâte dans le saladier, ajouter le beurre et le sucre et mélanger. Pétrir à nouveau sur une surface plane pendant 10 minutes.
Former une boule et la déposer dans le saladier. Couvrir avec un torchon et faire lever la pâte jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait au moins doublé de volume. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant environ 70 minutes. Le four est un endroit idéal parce que sans courants d'air. On peut bien sûr faire lever la pâte dans le four éteint, il faut juste être un peu plus patient.

Quand la pâte a bien levé, la diviser en huit et former de peites boules lisses et de taille égale. Les laisser reposer sous un torchon pendant un quart d'heure.
Faire ensuite une fente assez profonde dans chaque petit pain. On peut par exemple utiliser le dos d'une pochette en plastique (oui, c'est un peu le système D....). Ne pas utiliser de couteau, qui serait trop tranchant.
Les saupoudrer de farine tamisée et les remettre à lever dans un endroit sans courants d'air (nous les remettons au four a 35 degrés pendant 70 minutes). Pour qu'ils restent bien moelleux, mettre une ou deux tasses d'eau bouillante dans le four pendant cette deuxième levée.

Retirer les petits pains et l'eau du four et préchauffer ce dernier à 240 degrés.
Enfourner les petits pains (niveau bas) et réduire la chaleur à 140 degrés. Les cuire à cette température pendant 20 minutes.

Butter Rolls *

We recently bought high gluten flour to make fresh pasta, and this recipe featured on the pack.
These simple rolls are fine for breakfast. They are not too sweet and will go well with your favorite marmalade.









For 6 rolls

- 180gr flour (high gluten, "カメリア" in Japan)
- 3gr dry yeast
- 20gr sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 55-60ml water
- 30ml milk
- 2,5gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 25gr butter, softened



It is important that all your ingredients be at room temperature, don't forget to take out the egg from the fridge several hours before you start. You can also slightly warm up the water and milk.

In a large bowl, mix flour and yeast and sugar, and make a well.
Add half of the beaten egg, then tepid water and milk and work the dough with one hand.
When it starts not to be sticky anymore (after about 10min) add the softened butter (in 2-3 times), and the salt.
Mix and knead the dough for another 20 minutes on a flat surface (30 minutes total, yes, it is ward work!).
Form a ball with the dough, cover with a cloth and let it rise inside your closed oven until it has at least doubled in size. We set our oven to 35 degrees/ 1 hour for this step.


Divide the dough into 6 triangles and roll them out as on the photo. You can stretch them out with your hands to help forming elongated triangles. Roll each triangle on itself, starting from the large side.
Put the rolls back into the oven to rise a bit more. We set our oven to 40 degrees for 30-40min.
Of course you can rise your dough without heat, it will just take a little longer.
Take the rolls out from the oven (to a draft-free place) and preheat to 210 degrees.
Brush the rolls with the remaining half of the beaten egg, put them in the oven on the middle shelf, and lower the temperature to 190 degrees.
Bake for 10-15min (13min was OK for us).


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De simples petits pains au beurre pour le petit déjeuner.

Pour 6 petits pains

- 180gr de farine de gluten
- 3gr de levure sèche
- 20gr de sucre
- 1 oeuf
- 55-60ml d'eau
- 30ml de lait
- 2,5gr de sel (1/2 c. café)
- 25gr de beurre ramoli





Avant de commencer assurez-vous que tous les ingrédients soient à température ambiante. N'oubliez pas de sortir l'oeuf du réfrigerateur plusieurs heures avant. L'eau et le lait doivent également être tièdes.

Dans un grand saladier, mélangez la farine, le sucre et la levure, et faites un puits.
Ajoutez l'eau et le lait, la moitié de l'oeuf battu, mélangez du bout des doigts et travaillez ensuite la pâte avec une main.
Lorsque la pâte ne colle plus à la main (après environ 10 minutes), ajoutez le sel, et le beurre ramoli en 2-3 fois.
Mélangez et continuez à pétrir cette pâte sur une surface plate pendant encore 20 minutes.
Formez une boule, remettez-la dans le saladier et couvrez avez un torchon.
Faites lever la pâte dans votre four fermé jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait au moins doublé de volume. Si vous le pouvez, réglez votre four sur 35 degrés, pendant une heure. Vous pouvez bien sur faire lever la pâte sans chaleur, cela prendra juste un peu plus longtemps.
Une fois levée, divisez la pâte en six triangles et étalez-les comme sur la photo. Roulez chaque triangle sur lui-même pour former les petits pains.
Remettez-les dans le four fermé pour les faire lever une seconde fois. A 40 degrés il faudra environ 45 minutes.
Sortez les petits pains du four et mettez-les à l'abris des courants d'air. Préchauffez votre four à 210 degrés.
A l’aide d’un pinceau de cuisine, enduisez les petits pains avec le reste d'oeuf.
Enfournez à hauteur moyenne et réduisez la chaleur à 190 degrés.
Faites cuire pendant 10 à 15 minutes selon votre four (13 minutes pour nous).

Lemon and Cinnamon Christmas Cookies

It's Christmas time, the best time for baking cookies. At home in Alsace we would bake several kinds of cookies, enough to fill up a few boxes. They were supposed to be for guests first and therefore hidden by my mum in some remote corner of the house, but somehow we always managed to find them and gobble them up, until the day she would find empty boxes and get reeeeally mad.

This recipe was taken from the book "Les petits gâteaux d'Alsace: S'bredlebuech".
It originally did not include peanuts. I had planned to add almonds but I came home from the supermarket with the wrong pack, as it often happens. I then decided to add those peanuts anyways, and it worked well, no regrets. I also added nutmeg and five spice that were not on the original recipe.



For about 40 cookies

- 330gr flour
- 150gr sugar
- 165gr butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- about 30gr finely crushed roasted peanuts
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a pinch of five spice (optional)
- a tiny pinch of baking powder

For icing
- icing sugar and lemon juice


Put the flour into a large bowl. Make a well and add all other ingredients except peanuts. With one hand, bring everything together, incorporating the flour little by little. When it is getting homogeneous add the peanuts, and mix until you have a smooth dough. Leave it in the fridge for one night to firm up.
The next day, spread the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of about half a centimeter. Cut out cookies of the desired shape with a cookie-cutter.
Put the cookies on an oven tray with cooking paper, and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
You can proceed with the icing when the cookies are cold. Mix icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice and spread it on the cookies with a kitchen brush.
I know you'll want to have one immediately, but they taste better after one day, and they can be kept in a closed container for at least two or three weeks, although they usually disappear before.

Chinois au Miel Cacao et Amandes

A delicious brioche for weekend breakfast.

For the dough, follow the recipe as in Brioche a la Geispitzeoise**, but start with 500gr of flour instead of 750gr, and scale down all other ingredients (don't add raisins).

For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cacao powder
- 2 heaped tablespoons finely crushed almonds

For the frosting:
- 1 heaped tablespoon icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kirsch (or other liquor) + water



Make the dough and let it rise once (in a draft-free place, for at least 2-3 hours).
Meanwhile, roast the almonds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until they are lightly brown.
Spread the dough into a 30X40cm square (approximately).
Mix honey and cacao, and spread this filling on the dough with a brush. Sprinkle with almonds.



Make a roll, and cut about 7 slices (it might vary) of equal thickness.
Prepare a springform pan. Because some filling might leak out of the rolls while cooking (no panic!), lay a sheet of cooking paper at the bottom of the pan (I don't have cooking paper, so I cooked it directly on aluminium foil lightly sprinkled with flour). Butter the sides of the pan.

Lay your rolls in the pan as on the picture, put the whole thing back to a safe, draft-free place (inside the oven works well), and let it rise a second time (1 or 2 hours, until the rolls have well "invaded" the pan).

Bake at 190 degrees for 35 minutes.

When it is out of the oven, make the frosting by mixing icing sugar, liquor and water, and spread it on the brioche with a brush.

Banana and raspberry muffins

The other day at Tokyu Hands I found small silicone baking pans which I immediately wanted to try out.
I have never baked muffins before but there are tons of recipes on Internet.
This one is adapted from Delia Smith, the "most tried and trusted of British TV cooks" (Oh OK then...).



For 6 small muffins:

- 90gr flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 50ml milk
- 20gr sugar
- 25gr butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- about 50gr raspberries (or 1 tablespoon chocolate chips)
- 1 banana, 1 tablespoon lemon juice





Start off by melting the butter, and let it cool down while you prepare the other ingredients.
Pre-heat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mash the banana and one tablespoon lemon juice.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Now return the dry ingredients to the sieve and sift them straight into the egg mixture. Take a large spoon and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones, quickly, without stirring or beating. The mixture has to be be lumpy, which will ensure that the muffins stay light.
Now fold in the banana and raspberries (or chocolate chips), again with just a quick stir.
Spoon in just enough mixture to fill each muffin cup. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven, 15min@210deg plus 7-8min@200deg (this is for our oven. If you have a normal oven, 20min@200deg will probably be enough).

Brioche a la Geispitzeoise **

This recipe was provided by Mrs Mamo from Geispitzen. It is best with coffee in the morning, but can be eaten any time of the day. It takes quite some time and energy, but you will be rewarded in the end.

- 750gr flour
- 16gr dry yeast (or 45gr fresh baker's yeast)
- 2,5dl milk
- 170gr butter
- 130gr sugar
- 2 eggs and one egg yolk
- pinch of salt
- raisins, a small handful (optional)

For icing:
- icing sugar (about 3 tablespoons), alcohol
- walnuts/almonds

Take out the eggs from the fridge the night before. It is best if all ingredients are at room temperature.
If you are going to use raisins, soak them in a mixture of alcohol and water for a while (overnight is fine too).
Heat up the milk until it is tepid. Use about 50 ml to dilute the dry yeast, let it get bubbly (the yeast with get activated). Meanwhile melt the sugar, butter, pinch of salt in the rest of the tepid milk.
Put the flour in a big bowl and make a well in the middle. Little by little, add the yeast/milk/sugar/butter/beaten eggs and mix well with a wooden spoon. Work the dough and incorporate some air by lifting it energetically with the spoon. It needs to be smooth and airy. You can then add the raisins. Cover the bowl with a wet towel and leave it in a draft-free place until it doubles in size (at least). It will take about two hours, don't rush this step.
Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Work them out into long rolls and shape up a braid (or pretzel, or whatever shape you want to give it). Transfer to the cooking tray which has been overlaid with tinfoil, and let it rise again for at least one hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees, and cook it for 40 minutes.
While it is still warm, cover with the icing sugar/alcohol mixture and sprinkle with chopped walnuts or almonds.