Category: Bakery

Dutch Baby Pancake.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

If you’ve ever been to the Walker Brothers Pancake House in Wilmette, you’ve seen one of these huge pancakes being delivered to a table near you. Maybe you’ve even tried this light and fluffy mass of puffed-up flour, butter, and eggs yourself. It’s the perfect thing to cook for company because it looks so impressive and unusual. But as you serve it to a chorus of compliments, smile silently to yourself, you big show-off, because it’s actually a ridiculously easy recipe.

INGREDIENTS

for pancake:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
cinnamon to taste (we used about 1/8 tsp)
4 eggs
4 tbsp (half a stick) butter

for topping:
1 – 1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 cup yogurt
your favorite berries
powdered sugar
lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Remove your oven’s top rack and preheat oven to 425 F–the pancake cooks on the middle rack and needs space to rise.

With the stove on medium heat, melt butter in a large cast-iron pan or oven-proof saute pan. While the butter melts, combine all other pancake ingredients in a mixing bowl.

When the oven is fully preheated, pour batter into pan over melted butter, but don’t stir the butter into the batter! They should remain separate.

Immediately place pan into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, so that the whole pancake cooks through. The middle and sides will start to brown a bit by the time the pancake is done. Remove from oven and cool about 1 minute.

While the pancake cools, mix together yogurt and honey, and wash and cut up berries.

Transfer pancake to a large plate. Top with yogurt, sprinkle with berries and lemon juice, and add a generous finishing touch of powdered sugar. Serves 2-3 (or a very hungry 1…).

Scottish Shortbread.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Scottish shortbread and black tea are good friends. Ever since they first met, they’ve just clicked. They try to hang out as much as possible, but sometimes it’s hard to find a free afternoon. So next time shortbread wants to get together with tea, offer up your kitchen as a meeting place. Then, while they’re chatting away, quietly sneak up behind them…and chow down. Trust me, they’ll never see it coming. And this shortbread recipe (from one by Lorraine Pascale) will definitely help you forget how much butter you just ate.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 sticks butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp brown rice flour (this gives a nice texture, but feel free to substitute with all-purpose flour)
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Cream together butter and sugar. In a separate bowl,  combine flours and salt. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar in 3 parts, stirring between each addition. The texture of the dough should be very crumbly but hold together when pressed.

Now, press the dough evenly into a pan. I recommend a spring-form pan or a tart tin with a loose bottom, so that you’ll be able to remove the crumbly shortbread without breaking it. If you’re not using a tart tin, crimp the sides with your fingers so that you have a pretty little border. Then, use a knife to draw 8 pizza-shape segments, and pierce each segment a few times with a fork. Place dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Just before the 30 minutes is up, preheat oven to 325 F. Remove shortbread from oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until just starting to turn golden. Cool completely, slice carefully (it’s very crumbly), and serve with tea–but give the friends a minute to say hello before you start to nibble elegantly.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

I found these cookies on smitten kitchen, and today was the perfect day to try them out. One thing that makes these so special is that, since the batter contains roasted hazelnuts, the kitchen starts to smell good long before you start the actual baking! And here’s a heads-up on a possible future post: I think my sister was on to something when she pointed out that this batter would make a heavenly pie crust.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup hazelnuts
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup brown rice flour (all-purpose flour works just fine, too)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
handful of chocolate chips/discs/whatever shape your baking chocolate is

DIRECTIONS

Heat a pan on medium high and roast hazelnuts until fragrant but not browned or burned. Spread them out on a cutting board or sheet pan to cool.

In a food processor, pulse together cooled hazelnuts, sugar, flour, and salt until it reaches the texture of a not-quite-fine powder.

Transfer nuts and flour to a mixing bowl and stir in butter, egg, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 45 minutes to firm.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from the fridge, form into balls, arrange on cookie sheet, and place back in the fridge to cool for another 15 minutes.

Remove dough from fridge. Make a small, shallow indentation in the center of each cookie and fill with chocolate (chips, discs, whatever). Place on middle rack and bake for about 12 minutes, until firm in the middle and golden around the bottom. When the cookies are done, remove them from the oven but let them cool on their baking sheet, without touching them, for 5 minutes, so that they firm up and hold together. Enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of red wine!

Cream Scones.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchenLeave a comment

I love tea! All types of tea, at all times of day, with any and all of the traditional tea accompaniments: tea sandwiches, bread and butter, little cakes, crumpets, scones… Let’s start with scones. A good scone has a somewhat dense but still fluffy texture and a touch of sweetness that pairs well with black tea. These scones have a little bit of crunch on the outside and a tender inside. They’re light as a cloud!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
5 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
2 eggs, divided
3/4 cups cold heavy cream
brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine flours, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a mixer or food processor. Add butter and mix until combined, but still clumpy.

Add 1 egg and the cream and mix until starting to hold together. Knead the dough a few times on a floured surface until it holds, and form it into a ball. Roll it out into a disc about 3/4 inch thick.

Cut the dough pizza-style, into 8 triangular pizza-shaped slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Beat the remaining egg and brush it over each slice. Then sprinkle them with brown sugar to taste.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until firm on the outside and starting to brown on the bottom. Serve warm, with jam and butter. Or clotted cream, yum. And don’t forget the steaming pot of tea!

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake.

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Yesterday I noticed that we had 2 apples that were about to go bad. I hate wasting perfectly good fruit, so I did some recipe-hunting and found some inspiration for an apple cake. After a few tweaks and additions, I came up with this super tasty coffee cake, with just the right sweetness and spice. A perfect accompaniment to my morning pot of Barry’s Irish Breakfast Tea (the best black tea on earth). Coffee cake is pure joy!

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake | KellyintheKitchen | 2 apples, 1/2 tbsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 6 tbsp butter, heaping 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup almonds, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, pinch of ground ginger

INGREDIENTS

2 apples, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
heaping 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cups flour (I’ve used half wheat, half all-purpose, and I’ve used just all-purpose. Both are good)
1/2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup almonds, sliced or chopped
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Toss sliced apples in cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Sift in half the flour and stir to combine. Then stir in the milk. Finally, add the rest of the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. Stir until just combined.

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Grease a spring-form pan or other cake pan. Spread about half the batter on the bottom of the pan, and cover with apples. Then spread the remaining batter over the apples.

Combine almonds, cinnamon, and ginger, and sprinkle evenly over the cake. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I don’t blame you if you dig right in, but cooling it slightly means it will cut a little cleaner. Yum!

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Vegetable Pot Pie.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

Growing up, my family used to make chicken pot pie using the easy recipe on the back of the Bisquick box. But the dish we’d end up with always turned out flavorless and dough-heavy. This recipe is your cure for the common pot pie! And you won’t miss the chicken at all; it’s so robust and flavorful that even the manliest carnivore won’t miss the meat!

INGREDIENTS

crust: (if you don’t want to make one, buy a pre-made crust–just make sure you have both a top and a bottom layer)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup milk
egg wash: 1 egg and a splash of water or milk

filling:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water or broth (I use homemade chicken stock)
olive oil
1 cup red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2  tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup sweet potato, diced
1 cup spinach, julienned
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tbsp wheat flour
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp red wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

First, prepare the crust. Let the butter sit out while you mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flours, sugar, salt, pepper, and cumin with a fork. Then cut the butter into cubes and break it into the flour mixture, using a fork to combine. Chunks of butter are okay! They melt and make the crust flaky and good.

Slowly stir in the milk. You might not need it all–add just enough until the dough holds loosely together. Cut the dough in half, cover, and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Cook the quinoa. Bring one cup quinoa and one cup liquid to a boil, then turn down to simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook onion, garlic, rosemary, paprika, salt, cumin, and pepper until onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes.

Add celery, carrot, and sweet potato and cook until veggies start to brown, about 8 minutes.

While the veggies cook, prepare the bottom layer of crust. On a floured surface, roll out half the dough until it’s slightly larger than the size of your pie pan. Drape the dough over the pan, and press it into the sides to fit. Trim the edges. Bake the crust for about 8 minutes and then remove from the oven.

Back to the vegetables. Stir in the flour to evenly coat the veggies. Cook out the raw flour taste, about 2 minutes.

Now add soy sauce, red wine, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Cook for another minute before adding milk. Simmer until the milk becomes like a gravy or sauce, and remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked veggies, spinach, peas, and quinoa. Fill your pie crust.

Now prepare the top crust. On a floured surface, roll out the second half of the dough so that it will fit easily over your pie. Trim the edges and crimp the two layers of crust together using the prongs of a fork.

Make the egg wash by scrambling the egg and adding a splash or water or milk. Brush it over the crust, especially along the crimped edge.

Poke a few holes in the center with your fork and bake for 15 minutes. Brush with egg wash once more, and return to the oven for 10-15 more minutes, for a total bake time of 25-30 minutes. Let it cool a bit and enjoy!