Ingredient: salt

Apple Maple Boursin Muffins w/ Sweet Potato

Boursin’s story began in 1957, in a small Normandy village, located in France, when cheese maker François Boursin set up a factory producing soft cheese. At that time, he had no idea his name would become internationally famous.

Boursin Garlic & Herbs was launched in 1963 and quickly became a household name across France. Sixty years later, the original recipe remains unchanged and food lovers in more than 35 countries have spread their passion for Boursin all around the world. Perfect on bread, as appetizers or in a creamy sauce for main or side dishes. Since 2011, Boursin has been made in Canada in St. Hyacinthe, Québec, by Agropur, the Canadian dairy co-operative, for Bel Cheese Canada, the Canadian arm of Bel Group, the France-based multinational. 

There are seven flavors of Boursin Cheese sold in Canada: Garlic & Fine Herbs, Shallot & Chive, Bouquet of Basil & Chive, Cranberry & Pepper, Cracked Black Pepper, Fig & Balsamic, Apple & Maple.

Boursin is sometimes dubbed a Gournay cheese, Gournay being the name of the region in Normandy where Boursin was first made. The cheesemaker used the name when he was first asked to classify the cheese for customs purposes.

Today, I am doing a bit of recipe development with Apple Maple Boursin. The apple flavor and the silkiness of maple syrup perfectly complement Boursin’s incomparable texture along with some sweet potato, dates and dried cranberries. The whole combination creates an exceptional sweet and savory cheese muffin. Brion & I really enjoyed my new muffin creation.

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 Apple Maple Boursin Muffins w/ Sweet Potato
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apple maple Boursin muffins w/ sweet potato
Servings
Ingredients
Batter
Topping
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apple maple Boursin muffins w/ sweet potato
Servings
Ingredients
Batter
Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Topping
  1. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Spread out on a large plate & place in freezer until; ready to use.
Muffin Batter
  1. Cook, peel & mash sweet potato. Chop dates. Slice, core & grate apple. Grate orange (zest). Chop pecans. Crumble Boursin.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with baking cups.
  3. In a large bowl, combine first 12 ingredients using a fork. Make a well in center.
  4. Beat egg until frothy. Whisk in sugar, oil, sweet potato & sour cream. Crumble in 75 gm of the Boursin cheese.
  5. Pour into well & stir only to moisten. Divide between the 12 muffin cups. Remove topping from freezer & place some on top of each muffin.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes then remove from pan. BEST SERVED WARM!

Pork & Turkey Pie w/ Spiced Liqueur Cranberries

Today, November 23rd, our neighbors to the south in the USA, are celebrating their Thanksgiving Day. It encompasses both religious and secular aspects … being both a harvest festival and a festival of family.

Here in Canada, we have already enjoyed our Thanksgiving in October, but I thought it would be nice to acknowledge their holiday with posting a special meal.

Savory Pork & Turkey Pie is an interesting combination of pork, turkey and stuffing. This recipe was born after a long-time love of homemade pot pies and some trial and error on various meat pies. It’s made with chicken, pork fillet, leftover stuffing, and a flavorful blend of spices and herbs all wrapped in a sour cream cornmeal pie crust. It’s incredibly tasty, even reheated as leftovers.

Of course, it wasn’t that the pie isn’t really good as it is, but the spiced cranberries are certainly the ‘icing on the cake’ you could say. Nobody goes to a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal and says, ‘I can’t wait to try the cranberry sauce this year’! But while it is not the center of the meal, it is certainly an important component of it.

Fresh cranberry sauce has become almost as important as the turkey itself. A Thanksgiving feast doesn’t feel complete without a bowl of cranberry sauce. Undeniably, the tangy condiment has become as much of a showpiece as the traditional turkey it’s served with!

This version of the cherished sauce brings a modern twist to the holiday table. Simmered in spiced cranberry liqueur, the cranberries acquire an exquisite depth and a delicate sweetness. Meanwhile, the cinnamon and orange zest, simmered alongside the colorful berries, bring a bit of nuance and extra layers of flavor. Once done, the sauce ends up having a compote-like texture, which makes it even more luxurious.

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 Pork & Turkey Pie w/ Spiced Liqueur Cranberries
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword pork & turkey pie w/ port cranberries
Servings
Ingredients
Sour Cream Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Cranberries w/ Spiced Liqueur
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword pork & turkey pie w/ port cranberries
Servings
Ingredients
Sour Cream Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Cranberries w/ Spiced Liqueur
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Pastry
  1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or fingertips, cut in butter until mixture resembles both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it.
  2. After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. DO NOT overwork dough. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Line the base & sides of an 8-inch spring form pan leaving about a 1-inch dough overhang. Refrigerate until filling is prepared.
Filling
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, thyme, sage, savory, salt, & pepper. Add chicken broth and milk all at once.
  3. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in cooked chicken, pork & stuffing, being careful not to overmix. Taste to adjust seasoning if necessary. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
  4. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until pastry is golden.
Cranberries w/ Spiced Liqueur
  1. In a medium nonstick saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, take out cinnamon sticks.
  2. Top pie w/ cranberry compote.

Vertical Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts w/ Cranberry Gelee

There’s something about the presentation of food—it always seems to taste better when it looks great. Plated desserts aren’t quite my passion, but it was still an experience worth learning.

Our eyes are the gateway to our stomachs. When a dessert looks good, it’s like a promise that it’s going to taste amazing. But it’s not just about the looks; there’s actual science behind it! Psychologists believe that visually appealing food also seems tastier. The brain, being the mischievous little thing it is, associates’ beauty with flavor.

Plated desserts are essentially desserts that have multiple textures, flavors, colors and components that are paired together and presented beautifully on a plate, almost looking like a piece of art.

Dessert plating has been around since the Renaissance. The nobility used to have their chefs present their sweets in the most elaborate ways. So basically, when you’re plating, you’re partaking in a historical tradition.

Embracing the seasonality of ingredients not only adds fresh flavors to your desserts but also creates a visual impact on your plate.

These little elegant tarts are made using rings of crisp, sweet shortcrust pastry, a light pumpkin cheesecake and a layer of fresh cranberry orange gelee. Standing upright on a bed of gingersnap crumble, they are decorated with white chocolate fall leaves and candy spheres.

A plated dessert can be simple to strikingly complex and everything in between so you are only limited by your imagination. 

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 Vertical Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts w/ Cranberry Gelee
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Course dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword vertical pumpkin cheesecake tarts w/ cranberry gelee
Servings
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cranberry Gelee
Pastry
Crumb Base
Course dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword vertical pumpkin cheesecake tarts w/ cranberry gelee
Servings
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cranberry Gelee
Pastry
Crumb Base
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Pumpkin Cheesecake (make a day ahead)
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 9 X 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar, ground spices, nutmeg and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin puree until smooth. Beat in the cream, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs at low speed until blended.
  3. Pour the batter into a prepared baking pan. Spread evenly in the pan. When baked & cooled the cheesecake should be the height of the width of your tart rings. (Mine are about ¾-inch).
  4. Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cover & refrigerate covered overnight.
Gelee (make a day ahead)
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries with 1/4 cup of water and cook over moderate heat until they begin to pop, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine sieve. Rinse out the saucepan.
  2. Add the sugar & 2 Tbsp of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, until dissolved. Let cool. Stir in the orange juice and cranberry puree.
  3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 Tbsp of water and let stand until softened, 5 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds, or until completely melted. Whisk the gelatin into the cranberry mixture. Line a 6 X 9-inch dish with plastic wrap. Pour the gelée into a prepared pan; shake it gently to even it out. Refrigerate the gelee overnight.
Pastry
  1. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, salt, & vanilla in a large bowl. Add the butter and mix with your hands until the butter is broken down into pieces the size of peas and the ingredients are well combined. Add the egg and mix with a fork until the dough is smooth and the egg is fully incorporated. Don’t overmix.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and gently shape it into a ball. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and flatten it into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight, until cold but still pliable.
  3. When the dough has chilled, unwrap the dough and place it on a silicone baking mat on your work surface. Roll it out into a rectangle about 1⁄8 inch thick, using a second silicone sheet on top.
  4. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into strips about 1- inch thick. These strips will make the tart rings. Place cut pastry in freezer until cool. This will make handling the strips much easier.
  5. When chilled, transfer each strip of dough to one of the tart rings and lightly press it to the sides. (I am using 2 sizes of tart rings – 2 ¾-inch & 2 ½-inch diameter and ¾-inch width). Use a small knife to neaten the top edge of the rim on the rings.
  6. Transfer the baking sheet containing the tart rings to the freezer & freeze for at least 20 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  8. Bake tart rings for 15-20 minutes or until light golden in color. Cool on wire racks.
Crumb Base
  1. Place gingersnap cookies in a sealed plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, crush to coarse crumbs. Set aside.
Assembly/Decoration
  1. CHEESECAKE: Using a ring cookie cutter the diameter of the inside of the BAKED pastry rings. Cut out circles. Cut each cheesecake circle in half, so that you have semicircles. Place one semicircle inside each pastry ring so that the curved edge sits flush inside the pastry ring.
  2. GELEE: Cut strips of gelee & place one along each cut side of the cheesecake, so that when you stand the rings of pastry up, it is sitting on top of the cheesecake.
  3. CRUMB BASE: Arrange small piles of gingersnap crumbs on a serving plate & place each tart on top of the crumbs, so they are standing vertically.
  4. DECORATION: Decorate your vertical tarts with whatever you wish. My choice was some tiny white chocolate fall leaves in keeping with an autumn dessert.
Recipe Notes
  • Traditionally the pastry for the rings is made containing almond meal. Since I have a nut allergy, mine is made without but still has a nice crispy texture. 
  • Very often this kind of dessert is made with a chocolate filling but I wanted to do something in the way of a fall dessert. 
  • Using a pumpkin cheesecake filling has two benefits. It definitely says fall & is easy to make it conform to the circular shape.
  • These plated desserts add such an elegant finishing touch to a holiday meal.

Apple Hand Pies

We are now entering the last month of the autumn season here in Canada.  Fall air is light and crisp—and it carries a signature scent …. a mix of rain, earth, tree bark, and leaves. It’s a scent that always makes you want to take deeper, longer breaths, and just fill your lungs with all the smells of nature. Fall is nature’s most prolific and imaginative painter who loves to splash stunning shades of red, orange, and yellow splash across this canvas we call planet earth.

If fall recipes are known for two things, those things are pumpkin and apples. The smell of the spices in our fall desserts, things like pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon, bring back memories of family Thanksgivings. Not only are these flavors generally found in hot drinks and foods, which are comforting in themselves, their smells are what actually makes them so coveted. 

With the abundance of apples available to us this time of year, it’s no surprise our kitchens are often full of the aromas of wonderful baked apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the plethora of smells that often accompany apple dishes. There are just so many ways to incorporate apples into our dishes, both savory and sweet.

Over the years, I have posted many different hand pies, both sweet and savory. So, just as a salute to ‘apple season’, I’m making some apple hand pies topped with a fall motif.

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 Apple Hand Pies
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apple hand pies
Servings
Ingredients
Pastry
Apple Filling
Egg Wash
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apple hand pies
Servings
Ingredients
Pastry
Apple Filling
Egg Wash
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Pastry
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. Cut in white & yellow shortening until it resembles small peas. In a one cup measure, place egg & vinegar; combine. Add enough cold water to make 3/4 cup. Pour all at once over flour mixture, mixing quickly, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. This should only take a couple of minutes; DO NOT OVERMIX PASTRY. Cover with plastic wrap & place in refrigerator until filling is ready.
Apple Filling
  1. Peel & dice apples, toss with lemon juice, brown sugar, spice of choice & salt in a mixing bowl.
  2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add apple mixture & cook until sugar dissolves completely & the apple pieces are starting to soften.
  3. Mix cornstarch with cold water & add this slurry to the saucepan. Stir until filling thickens, about 1 minute. Take off the heat & set aside to cool completely.
Assembly
  1. Prepare egg wash. Remove pastry from fridge & roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 16 rounds. If you wish cut out some fall designs such as acorns or maple leaves for the top of the hand pies. On each round place a scoop of apple filling (I weighed my filling & divided it between the 16 pastry rounds). Fold in half & seal with a fork or alternately use a perogy cutter to cut, fold & seal.
  2. Place the mini turnovers on a parchment lined baking sheet & keep in the fridge or freezer while you continue to make the rest of the pastries.
Baking
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. Brush egg wash all over the pastry crusts. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of coarse sugar. Bake for about 14 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
  3. Remove from oven & place pastries on a wire rack to cool.

Fall Cookie Leaves

After Christmas, Halloween is one of the most commercial holidays in Canada. Canadians love going over the top for Halloween. Not only with creative costumes but with the exterior and interior decorations of their homes which are often decorated with fall elements like dried leaves and pumpkin-themed decor.

Halloween in Canada is celebrated on October 31 each year. Even though the festival is celebrated with a lot of pizazz and character, Halloween is not a public holiday in any part of the world.

You would be surprised to know that against popular belief of Halloween having a serious North American following, it is a very British-Irish origin story. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st, the ghosts of the dead would come back to earth and cause havoc. To ward off evil spirits, people would dress up in costumes, carve jack-o-lanterns, and have bonfires.

Halloween is a great way to celebrate the fabulous fall season in Canada with its spooky decorations, costumes, and treats and to remember the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter. 

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 Fall Cookie Leaves
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fall cookie leaves, Halloween treats
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fall cookie leaves, Halloween treats
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Whisk together flour & salt in a small bowl.
  2. Beat together butter & sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a hand mixer. Beat in egg & vanilla. Reduce speed to low & add dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
  3. Divide dough into 4 different bowls. Add a couple of drops of color to each portion of dough. Form into disks. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. On a floured work surface, place dollops of colored cookie dough next to each other. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Don't OVER ROLL cookie dough.
  6. Using different leaf cookie cutters, cut out various leaf shapes. Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if you wish.
  7. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, do not overbake. Transfer to racks to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
  • You can just sprinkle with coarse sugar or if you prefer, glaze them as I did.
  • Because it just happens to be Halloween, I added a few 'cinnamon sugar tortilla bats' to my tray just for fun.

Guacamole Prosciutto Chicken Breast

One of my basic, unwritten, rules for food preparation is: everything that can be baked in the oven should be baked in the oven. I have no doubt that there are others who will say that baking in the oven is expensive, that it consumes a lot of electricity, but baking in the oven has some other advantages compared to classic frying in a pan. 

Apart from the fact that food is prepared faster, which consumes less energy and consumes much less fat, you need much less time to prepare, as well as to wash the sprayed and greasy stove (or fryer). When I mention the speed of preparation, it is certainly much faster and easier to bake a few kilograms of chicken in one or two pans at the same time in the oven than in a pan. And if you also use baking paper, the profit is incomparable.

I always thought guacamole was an unlikely stuffing or topping for chicken breast as it usually served as a cold tortilla chip dip. It’s one of those taste ‘sensations’ you must taste to believe. Of course, you must start with liking avocados —and you guessed it, Brion & I do.

Then enter Italian prosciutto … which, is like ham that went to university abroad — sophisticated and cultured. What’s not to love about chicken oven baked, or air fried, loaded with guacamole; prosciutto & pepper jack cheese for some ultimate juicy and tender chicken roll ups.

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 Guacamole Prosciutto Chicken Breast
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword guacamole prosciutto chicken breast
Servings
Ingredients
Guacamole
Chicken Breasts
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword guacamole prosciutto chicken breast
Servings
Ingredients
Guacamole
Chicken Breasts
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Guacamole
  1. In a large bowl, coarsely mash avocados, lime juice & salt. Stir in garlic, onion & cilantro; blend well. Cover & set aside until ready to use.
Chicken
  1. Slice chicken breasts in halve lengthwise. Place the chicken in the air fryer basket. Rub olive oil on the chicken.
  2. Rub creole seasoning (or seasoning of choice) on each side of the chicken pieces.
  3. Cook in the air fryer at 360 degrees for 9 minutes. Open the air fryer and flip the chicken. Divide guacamole, prosciutto & cheese between the 8 pieces of chicken. Cook for another 9 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Recipe Notes
  • If you prefer to oven roast your chicken breast without using an air fryer, just preheat the oven to 375 F. After oiling & seasoning, wrap the prosciutto loosely around the chicken breasts. Place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet & bake for about 30 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from oven, top with cheese & guacamole, return to oven until cheese is melted. 
  • I roasted some grape tomatoes for the garnish which adds more flavor to the end result.

Breakfast Turkey Hashbrown Burgers

There’s something fundamentally satisfying about the textural contrast of biting through a crisp savory shell into a juicy turkey burger. It’s not like burgers needed to be reinvented, but I’m all about trying new things to see if there’s something novel and delicious to be discovered. 

Breakfast can be many things to many people. Hash browns come in many shapes and sizes. They can be prepared in various ways. Some consider it the ultimate breakfast food that needs to be served with eggs.

Brion has always enjoyed hashbrowns, not the diced, fried to a crisp in a deep fryer kind, but the nice shredded, golden kind. My inventions for new culinary techniques that revolutionize the way we eat usually happen in the middle of the night during a bout of insomnia. But all it takes is a quick Internet search to reveal that I’m far from the first person to have invented the cookery method, and hundreds of recipes already exist. Nevertheless, this idea for an interesting breakfast is a good example of that.

I crusted the turkey burgers with some shredded potatoes, so when they cook and get crispy, they act as a barrier that locks in all the juices.  The roasted tomatoes add a nice little garnish to the burgers.  I topped the burgers with poached eggs, because when you cut into it, the velvety, creamy yolk pours out onto the burger and acts as a sauce…and what goes better with potatoes than eggs, right?  So, there you have it …. crispy, golden hashbrowns, meat, eggs & tomatoes …. what a breakfast!

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 Breakfast Turkey Hashbrown Burgers
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey hashbrown burgers
Servings
Ingredients
Spicy Hashbrowns
Turkey Burgers
Other Ingredients
Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey hashbrown burgers
Servings
Ingredients
Spicy Hashbrowns
Turkey Burgers
Other Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Hashbrowns
  1. Thaw shredded hashbrowns on paper towel. In a bowl, place the flour, cheese, egg, onion, garlic, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper. Add 'dried' shredded hashbrowns. Using a fork, mix everything until combined being careful not to break up the hashbrowns. Set aside until burgers are ready to be coated with the mixture.
Turkey Burgers
  1. In a bowl, combine burger ingredients & divide into 4 equal portions. Form into burger patties. Coat burgers with hashbrown mixture, gently pressing coating down to make sure it adheres well.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
  1. In a small bowl, place cherry tomatoes & add some Italian dressing to coat. Place on a foil lined baking dish.
Cooking
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp EACH butter & olive oil. Carefully place hashbrown burgers in skillet & cook burgers on each side only until they are a golden brown. Remove to a baking pan & place in the oven to continue the cooking process until the meat is fully cooked. Roast the cherry tomatoes at the same time.
  3. While the burgers are in the oven, prepare the poached eggs. Heat a small pot of water until it is almost at a boil. Add 1 Tbsp vinegar to help the eggs to congeal. Crack the eggs gently right above the surface of the water. Turn off the heat & cover the pot for about 3-4 minutes or until the whites of the eggs are fully cooked but the yolks are still runny. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon.
  4. When the burgers & tomatoes are cooked, remove them from the oven. Place them on serving plates & top each burger with a poached egg. Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme if you wish.

Sweet Red Bean Buns/ Anpan

Many people are often surprised to hear that beans can be enjoyed as dessert. But ‘anko’, a paste made from red beans called ‘azuki’, is a staple in traditional Japanese confectionery, and has been enjoyed by Japanese people for centuries. Anko, or sweet red bean paste, is the equivalent of chocolate in the western world. 

The origin of red bean paste dates back to the Heian period when Chinese travelers visited Japan with recipes for steamed buns. Japan adopted the recipe and incorporated meat and vegetables; however, Buddhist priests were unable to eat the meat-filled buns, so they opted for a substitute of boiled azuki beans. The beans only began to be sweetened during the Muromachi period when Dutch traders started importing sugar to Japan.

Anpan is a sweet roll that was first made in 1874 by a samurai named Mr. Kimura. He lost his job due to the dissolution of the samurai as a social class back in Meiji period. During that time, Japan was becoming more westernized, and bakeries started to appear. His new job was as a baker.

Soon after Mr. Kimura founded the well-known bakery called ‘Kimuraya’, which still exists today. Kimura created a bread that was more suited to Japanese tastes. He replaced the traditional Japanese red bean mochi (a Japanese rice cake made from short-grain glutinous rice) with western bread instead of mochi and it is here where anpan, the traditional soft Japanese bread roll filled with red bean paste, was first invented.  

Anpan, derived from anko red bean paste, and pan, taken from the French word for bread (pain), is undoubtedly one of Kimuraya’s most famous products, and one of the most popular types of bread in Japan. Like true artisans, their original recipe has not changed since their first conception. Kimuraya have also not patented their recipe, allowing other bakers to make the same product as they please.

You can find anpan in bakeries and convenience stores all throughout Japan. Anpan is almost always filled with azuki bean paste in varying textures. Some are smooth, and others are chunky. Zunda beans (green beans) and white soybeans are common fillings. Other non-azuki bean paste flavors are pumpkin, chocolate, and cream, to name a few.

Red Bean paste comes in many shapes and forms, but one thing is constant: the ingredient is a special and meaningful component of different East Asian cultures. With its creamy texture, red bean paste is suitable for a multitude of desserts. Its flavor is sweet and savory at the same time, with notes of chocolate and walnuts.

Just for fun, I thought I would try making some anpan buns to see if we would like them. Of course, what’s not to like …. there sweet and soft!!

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 Sweet Red Bean Buns
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Course dessert
Keyword sweet red bean buns / anpan
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Sweet Red Bean Filling
Course dessert
Keyword sweet red bean buns / anpan
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Sweet Red Bean Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast & 1 tsp sugar in lukewarm milk. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, sour cream & egg. Add yeast mixture, stirring to combine.
  2. In another bowl, combine flour & salt. Add flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, combining with wet mixture. Once all flour has been added, knead dough for about 2 minutes until smooth & elastic consistency, Place dough in a greased bowl & cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
  3. Lightly butter 2 muffin pans using only 20 cups total.
  4. Punch the risen dough down & transfer to a lightly buttered work surface. Divide the dough into 20 equal portions with about 50 grams each. Take one portion of the dough, shape it round, flatten it with a rolling pin, put a ball of red bean paste and seal it properly. Shape the ball, use a rolling pin to flatten (not too forceful or it will break the dough) it into a rectangular shape, use a sharp knife to cut 4 lines in the middle of the dough about ½-inches apart.
  5. Roll up, starting at the longest side of dough, twist & attach ends together. Place each bun in a muffin cup.
  6. Brush egg wash over tops of buns & sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover buns with a tea towel & allow to rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
  7. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden in color. Remove from oven. Take buns out of pans & cool on wire racks.
Recipe Notes
  • If you prefer your bun dough a bit sweeter use 1/4 cup as opposed to 2 Tbsp as I did.

Apricot Couscous Cupcakes

Want an unusual dessert? Try swapping out some of the flour for couscous in a cupcake batter. You’ll be amazed at the result.

A major complaint about couscous sometimes is the lack of flavor but this is where having it as dessert comes in handy. Incorporating apricot puree and spices into the couscous batter gives the cupcakes an amazing flavor and texture.

Couscous, the justly celebrated masterpiece of Moroccan cooking, is actually a pasta, though it`s often mistaken for a grain.

Couscous (pronounced ‘koos-koos‘) is now widely available in packaged form in most supermarkets. Couscous are the yellow granules of semolina made from durum wheat. Durum is the hardest variety of the six classes of wheat and has the highest protein content of all wheat. Because of this, it’s ideal for making high quality pasta and is used by both American and Italian manufacturers. It’s also used to make couscous in America and Latin America. If these pastas were made of the softer white wheat flour that egg noodles use, they would lose their shape.

There are three types of couscous:

  • Moroccan couscous -Fine, used for savory as well as dessert couscous.
  • Israeli couscous – Medium, used for savory dishes also called pearl couscous.
  • Lebanese couscous – Coarse, more difficult to work with, used for savory dishes.

Adding some cream cheese frosting topped with apricot puree and sprinkled with couscous rolled in cinnamon takes this dessert to the next level!

Print Recipe
 Apricot Couscous Cupcakes
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Course dessert
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Keyword apricot couscous cupcakes
Servings
Ingredients
Couscous
Apricot Puree
Cupcakes
Frosting
Topping
Course dessert
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Keyword apricot couscous cupcakes
Servings
Ingredients
Couscous
Apricot Puree
Cupcakes
Frosting
Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Couscous
  1. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup water & 1/2 tsp salt to boiling. Add couscous, cover & remove from heat. Allow to sit 5 minutes then fluff with a fork & set aside to cool.
Apricot Puree
  1. Place water, sugar & apricots in a saucepan. Bring to a boil & simmer until soft. Place in a food processor & pulse to make a puree.
Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. In a small bowl, combine 2 cups cooled couscous (reserve a small amount for topping), flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices & salt; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar. Add 1 cup apricot puree & whip until light & fluffy. Add vanilla & egg yolks; whip well.
  4. Gradually add couscous mixture then buttermilk & combine only until blended. Whip egg whites until frothy, adding a pinch of salt. Using a spatula, blend egg whites into the batter.
  5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until testing with a toothpick & it comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
  1. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese & butter until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down sides to ensure that the mixture is mixed evenly.
  2. On low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar. Once combined, scrape down sides of bowl & increase the speed to medium, beating just until well combined & creamy.
Decorating
  1. Place cream cheese topping in a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake. With another smaller piping bag, using a round tip, drizzle apricot puree then sprinkle with cinnamon coated (cooked) couscous.

Fig & Flax Swirl Cookies

Ideal for fall, fig & flax swirl cookies have beautiful warm flavors from the fig preserves and spices and a little crunch from the flax seeds. Figs flavor has been described as kind of a honey-taste with hints of berry. And of course, they give a crunchy-crisp texture from the seeds.

Figs are a distinctive and vibrant fruit that work with sweet and savory dishes. There are so many ways to use them in autumnal bakes, salads, meat dishes and more. Then there’s an added dimension to take it a bit further by using figs in preserve form such as:

  • Homemade Fig Newtons.
  • Swirl into a cheesecake batter for a fig cheesecake.
  • Spread on melted baked brie fresh from the oven.
  • Spread it on toast, English muffins, or biscuits instead of jelly.
  • Spread on crostini with goat cheese, prosciutto & balsamic vinegar for an appetizer.
  • Combine with rosemary and balsamic vinegar & use as a glaze for chicken, pork, or kebabs.
  • Mix with softened cream cheese as a crepe filling.
  • Mix with oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper to make a vinaigrette.
  • Use it in grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.
  • Swirl it into ice cream.
  • Use in lieu of syrup for a topping for pancakes.

If you like fig preserves, you will love these cookies.

Print Recipe
 Fig & Flax Swirl Cookies
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fig & flax swirl cookies
Servings
COOKIES
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fig & flax swirl cookies
Servings
COOKIES
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, baking soda & salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter with the brown & white sugar. Mix on medium speed for a minute or two. Add the egg & vanilla and continue mixing until well incorporated.
  3. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture & stir with a spoon until combined & forms a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate for an hour.
  4. Roll chilled dough out on a lightly floured piece of waxed paper to a 16 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread smooth fig preserves on the dough to within about 1/2-inch of the edges. Starting at one of the long ends, begin to carefully roll the dough into a log.
  5. Place egg white in a small bowl. Combine 2 Tbsp each brown sugar & ground flax seeds in a shallow dish. Brush log with egg white then roll in the flax/sugar mixture. Wrap the rolled dough in the wax paper & refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
  6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F.
  7. Slice roll, (using a piece of floss for easier slicing), into 1/4-inch slices. Place on a parchment lined baking sheets & bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool on baking sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.