Benedictine Liqueur Christmas Braid

Christmas bread has a lot of different interpretations. The most traditional iterations involve sugar and spice, and often—but not always—yeast, and ultimately have strong cultural associations and country ties. One thing we can all agree on is that Christmas bread is celebratory, whether or not we observe the holiday. From the unleavened matzo of Passover to the German stollen of Christmas, from the British hot cross buns baked on Good Friday to the Russian kolach baked for any special occasion, bread in its many forms brings people together, linking traditions and generations.

The scent of Christmas spices, bread baking, and fresh-cut pine define holiday memories. Generations ago, the rich dough itself – lush with butter, eggs, dried fruit, sugar – relayed a cook’s generosity, her willingness to share the most precious ingredients in her pantry. The time and effort it took to make and bake the Christmas loaves expressed the cook’s devotion and love.

Last year, I was introduced to the liqueur known as Dom Benedictine. After doing much research into this interesting liqueur, I incorporated it in some savory and sweet recipes. We really enjoyed them so this year I was interested in doing a bit of recipe development to create a Christmas bread with it.

The story of Benedictine dates back to 1510 when a Venetian monk of the Abbey of Fécamp, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, created an elixir intended to support good health. It includes a combination of 27 herbs and spices derived from plants from around the globe, including juniper, myrrh, saffron, vanilla, thyme, coriander and more. The liqueur tastes primarily of honey and baking spices, with citrus peel, herb, and stone fruit notes.

So here you have it, my newly created Christmas bread tradition. Hope you can try it and enjoy it as much as Brion & I have.

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Benedictine Liqueur Christmas Braid
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Bread Dough
Lemon Glaze
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Bread Dough
Lemon Glaze
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Instructions
  1. Marinate raisins, candied fruit & cranberries in Benedictine liqueur overnight, Stir occasionally.
  2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water with 1 tsp sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, sift 2 cups of the flour. Stir in yeast mixture & lukewarm milk. Cover with plastic & let stand in a draft free place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down firmly & work in beaten eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon zest, vanilla & pieces of softened butter.
  4. Sift remaining 3 cups of flour with salt, cinnamon & cardamom & work 2 cups in to form a soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead in remaining cup of flour & fruit mixture. This becomes a very soft & buttery dough but is not sticky.
  5. Invert the dough onto a lightly floured work surface & dust with flour. Cut the dough into four equal pieces & then stretch & roll each piece into a rope about 20 inches long. Lay the ropes parallel to one another (vertically). Pinch them tightly at the top, then fan them out.
  6. Begin by taking the strand farthest to the right & weave it toward the left through the other strands using this pattern: over, under, over. Take the strand furthest to the right & repeat the weaving pattern again: over, under, over. Repeat this pattern, always starting with the strand farthest to the right, until the whole loaf is braided, Tuck the ends under to give the loaf a finished look.
  7. Carefully transfer the braided loaf to a parchment-lined 13x18-inch baking sheet, brush with egg wash. Cover the loaf loosely with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a warm, draft-free spot until about 1 1/2 times the size, about 1-2 hours. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 F. & set an oven rack in the middle position.
  8. Gently brush risen dough again with egg wash. Place in an air-bake pan to prevent the bottom crust from browning too much.
  9. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Combine powdered sugar & lemon juice/zest to make glaze. When braid is completely cool, brush loaf with lemon glaze & decorate to your liking.
Recipe Notes
  • To see a more in-depth article on Dom Benedictine Liqueur, check out my blog from December 21/2022 - Benedictine Liqueur Cupcakes.

Blueberry Chocolate Yeast Braid

I’m not sure what it is about chocolate that makes it such a good pair with berries. Blueberries for one, are the perfect match for dark chocolate. Bitter, sweet, fruity and awesome!

Some years ago, Brion & I were in California at a winery sampling some of their wines. They offered us some chocolate covered blueberries and that wonderful flavor has never left me.

Since we are already into December and Christmas baking is up front and center, I thought it might be nice to experiment with a different filling for this yeast braid.

Christmas breads are often more decorative and have celebratory qualities to them, such as the Bulgarian Christmas Bread that symbolizes prosperity for the upcoming year. Other classic Christmas breads from around the world include Panettone or Stollen which are filled with fruits and nuts. Whether it’s for the sake of tradition or you just want to make something new and different, this is the best time of the year to get in the kitchen and whip up some beautiful ‘Christmas bread’.

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Blueberry Chocolate Yeast Braid
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Sweet Dough
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Sweet Dough
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Instructions
Sweet Dough
  1. In a small dish, heat milk to lukewarm. Add yeast & 1 tsp sugar; let sit for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, sour cream & egg. Add yeast mixture & stir to combine.
  2. In another bowl, whisk flour & salt. Add flour mixture to yeast mixture 1 cup at a time, combining after each addition. Once the flour has been added, knead on a lightly floured surface for about 2 minutes.
  3. Lightly grease the large bowl, place dough in it & cover with plastic wrap & a tea towel. Allow to rest for at least one hour, in a draft free place until dough has doubled in volume.
Blueberry Filling
  1. In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch & lemon juice. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, for several minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat & cool until ready to use.
Cream Cheese
  1. Slice cream cheese in about 1/8-inch thick & about 4-inches in length. Lay out on a piece of plastic wrap to form a rectangle about 10 X 4-inches in size. Lay plastic wrap with cheese on a tray & place in refrigerator until ready to use.
Assembly/Baking
  1. On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll risen dough into a rectangle 13 X12-inches in size. With a straight edge, mark it in thirds lengthwise. On the two outer pieces, mark 1-inch strips. At the top & bottom you will need a 1 1/2-inch piece. The center rectangle should be 10 X 4-inches in size. Cut out the 4 corner 'wedges' as it will make a nice clean braid this way. ( I just made a couple of little sweet dough buns with a bit of jam filling with this excess dough.)
  2. Start with the cream cheese layer. Using the plastic wrap, flip it in the center rectangle. Next, top the cream cheese with blueberry filling then lay the chocolate bar over all to complete the third layer.
  3. Cut the strips on either side of the braid. Pull the end dough pieces up over the filling then start to braid with the side strips until you reach the other end. Using the parchment paper, lift the braid onto a baking sheet. Cover with a dry tea towel & allow braid to rest & rise for about 30 minutes in a draft free place.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F. before the braid is finished rising.
  5. Carefully brush braid with egg wash & bake for 30 minutes until it is browned nicely.
  6. Remove from oven & cool slightly before serving. If you have leftovers for another day, warm the bread slightly so that the chocolate will be soft & runny. Yum!

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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Sweet Red Bean Filling
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Sweet Red Bean Filling
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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.

Ube Bread Pudding w/ Ube Cream Cheese Drizzle

Ube (pronounced OO-bay), is a purple yam native to the Philippines and other areas of Southeast Asia. Ube is a very versatile ingredient. It is not a purple sweet potato or taro, it is a purple yam. Its special taste reminds one of vanilla, pistachios or chestnuts. The vibrant purple color inside and out is uniquely photogenic.

Ube has been used for decades in Filipino cuisine and has now caught on in North America, especially in the form of desserts.

When I first tried using it sometime back, it was in some sweet rolls that were filled with ube ‘halaya’ or jam and topped with Edam cheese. We absolutely loved them. My next adventure was some ube cheesecake for Easter (2019). Both of these recipes have been published here on the blog.

Now, I’m taking it another step further and making an Ube Bread Pudding. This dessert is best made over two days due to that fact that you are making the ube bread from scratch. Should be interesting!

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Ube Bread Pudding w/ Ube Cream Cheese Drizzle
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Ube Halaya (jam) Filling for Bread
Ube Bread Pudding
Ube Cream Cheese Drizzle
Servings
Ingredients
Ube Halaya (jam) Filling for Bread
Ube Bread Pudding
Ube Cream Cheese Drizzle
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Instructions
Ube Halaya
  1. In a medium, heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add coconut & condensed milks; stir until heated. Add thawed, grated ube & stir everything together. This process takes about 40-50 minutes until the ube is cooked. The mixture will be thick & sticky. It is important to stir the mixture often during cooking to prevent it from forming a crust. Transfer the ube halaya to a container & set aside.
Ube Bread
  1. In a small dish, heat milk to lukewarm. Add yeast & 1 tsp sugar; let sit for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, sour cream & egg. Add yeast mixture & stir to combine.
  2. In another bowl, whisk flour & salt. Add flour mixture to yeast mixture 1 cup at a time, combining after each addition. Once all the flour has been added, knead on a lightly floured surface for about 2 minutes.
  3. Lightly grease the large bowl, place dough in it & cover with plastic wrap & a tea towel. Allow to rest for at least one hour, in a draft-free place until dough has doubled in volume. Grate cheese & set aside in refrigerator until needed.
  4. Grease 2 loaf pans. Punch dough down & divide in half. Roll each piece out to about 7x7-inch (18x18 cm) square. Spread ube halaya over each one leaving about 1/2-inch border all the way around. Sprinkle each square with Edam cheese then roll up in jelly-roll style. Pinch to seal seams & place seam side down in loaf pans. Cover with plastic wrap & a tea towel. Allow to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake bread for about 50 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool for just a few minutes then pat with butter. Sprinkle with more grated cheese.
Ube Bread Pudding (ON THE FOLLOWING DAY)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Cut thick slices of ube bread into 1-inch cubes & spread out in baking dish. In a saucepan, melt butter into milk on medium-high; do not let it boil. Remove from heat when butter is melted.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk eggs & coconut extract together. Slowly pour egg mixture into butter/milk mixture & begin whisking immediately to avoid scrambling the egg mixture. Pour custard over the ube bread pieces; use a spoon to work liquid between the pieces.
  3. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until the top is springy. While the bread pudding is baking, make the ube drizzle.
Ube Drizzle
  1. In a bowl, using a mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes then add cream cheese & beat for another minute. Add powdered sugar slowly then beat thoroughly; add vanilla. Mix in ube halaya until well combined. Add enough milk to make a drizzle consistency. Either drizzle bread pudding before or after cutting into serving pieces.
Recipe Notes
  • You will have extra Ube Bread & Ube Halaya but it will no doubt be eaten before you have a chance to freeze it. Other than just enjoying it by the slice, it makes great French toast as well.

Garlic Bread Meatball Bombs

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Although, we have not officially reached the first day of fall (Sept. 23), this part of the year often begins with a tinge of melancholy. Even so, there are many ways to appreciate Canada’s most sentimental season.

Part of our country’s appeal is its four season’s: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall. We are entering the season of the fall harvest and the leaves on the trees begin their transformation to stunning shades of orange, red and yellow.

Labor day week-end gives us an opportunity to enjoy family and friends before summer is officially over. I remember as a kid, once we arrived at the Labor Day week-end all those ‘lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer were gone’. Back to school for another year. So, whatever your choice of relaxation is, you know good food will play a big part in the week-end gatherings.

Meatball bombs are a round homemade ‘hot pocket’. They have everything in them you need to make a great tasting meal. Serve two bombs per person. That means each person gets two meatballs, two dinner rolls, lots of sauce, and some gooey, cheesy goodness. Serve these with a simple side salad to round out the entire meal.

Speaking of Hot Pockets, I’m sure most everyone has tried them at some time since they have been around for over 40 years.

Probably the one lasting memory if you have,  is you know that the first bite of the microwavable, molten-in-the-middle meal will burn at least three layers clean off the roof of your mouth.

The frozen creations known as Hot Pockets were created by two Jewish Iranian brothers Paul and David Merage, who immigrated to the United States from Tehran. In 1977, the Merage brothers founded Chef America Inc. and set out to create a portable sandwich whose dough would actually retain its crispness after a few minutes in the microwave. Their creation, which debuted in 1980, was called the Tastywich, but it didn’t last long with its original name. By 1983, after some recipe tweaking, the Tastywich had a new name and Hot Pockets officially hit the market.

History aside, if you’re looking for some flavorful garlic bread meatball bombs, this is just the dish for you! And, you have the choice to use a lot of prepared ingredients from your grocery store, or you can make them all from scratch. There are options for both types in this recipe.

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Garlic Bread Meatball Bombs
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Dinner Rolls
Garlic Butter
White Sauce
Servings
Ingredients
Dinner Rolls
Garlic Butter
White Sauce
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Instructions
Dinner Rolls
  1. Dissolve yeast & sugar in lukewarm water & allow to sit a few minutes until frothy. Add oil, salt, & 2 1/2 cups flour, beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining 1/2 cup flour to form a stiff dough..
  2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover: let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
  3. Punch down the dough. Divide the dough into 18 pieces. Pinch the ends of each dough piece together in the center. Place seam side down. Use the palm of your hand to gently roll each dough ball until smooth and round.
  4. Place the dough balls in a parchment lined baking dish. Cover & allow rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  6. Lightly brush with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove rolls to a wire rack.
Meatballs
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meatballs & mix well. Divide mixture into 18 meatballs & place on a foil lined baking tray. Bake 35 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Remove from oven & set aside.
White Sauce
  1. In a saucepan, cook butter & flour until bubbly. Slowly add broth & cream; boil for a FEW minutes, add soy, salt & pepper. Set aside.
Assemble & Bake
  1. Hollow out the top of each roll with a sharp knife. The hole will need to be slightly bigger than the meatballs, but not so deep that you puncture the bottom.
  2. Set the rolls into a 9×13" baking pan which has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  3. Whisk together garlic butter ingredients. Using the back of a teaspoon, liberally smear the holes of the dinner rolls with the garlic butter. Use all of the butter evenly into each dinner roll.
  4. Spoon about a tablespoon of the prepared sauce into each of the hollowed out dinner rolls. Place a cooked meatball into each hole. Top each meatball with the remaining sauce mixture. Evenly distribute the cheese over each of the dinner rolls. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven.
  6. Using a sharp knife, slice between each dinner roll. Garnish with parsley if you wish.
Recipe Notes
  • For a QUICK & EASY meal use:
  • 12 (store bought) dinner rolls
  • 12 frozen meatballs, cooked
  • FOR SAUCE: 
  • 1/2 cup dried tomato paste
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • NOTE: I found for the original recipe it was easier to make the meatballs & sauce first, then the rolls. Just a suggestion!

Ube Pull-Apart Bread

There are a many different names for pull-apart bread such as monkey bread, Hungarian coffee cake, golden dumpling coffee cake, tear & share bread, bubble loaf just to mention a few. Pull-apart bread has both popular and deep cultural roots having originated in Hungary. Starting in 1950 and making its way across the Atlantic to Hungarian Jewish bakeries in the United States. Pull-apart bread was eventually featured in a Betty Crocker cookbook in 1972 and even became a staple in the Regan White House of the 1980s.

Imagine a bread so soft and buttery that it pulls apart into tender pieces at the slightest touch. Pull-apart bread’s first North American incarnation was as a mass of buttery dinner rolls, baked together so they could be pulled apart at the table.

Home bakers have remained captivated by pull-apart bread, having come up with numerous versions such as maple bacon brie, garlic & herb, pepperoni, spinach artichoke. Of course, the classic with the sandy-sweet filling of a cinnamon roll, crunchy pecans topped with a rich caramel glaze will never go out of voque.

Pull-apart bread makes the ultimate baked good, perfect for a family or holiday brunch. Delicious cut into slices or simply torn into chunks, this Ube Pull-Apart Bread makes the perfect dessert for barbecues and picnics or just any time.

Ube (pronounced OO-bay), is a purple yam native to the Philippines and other areas of Southeast Asia. Ube is a very versatile ingredient. It is not a purple sweet potato or taro, it is a purple yam. Its special taste reminds one of vanilla, pistachios or chestnuts. The vibrant purple color inside and out is uniquely photogenic.

Ube has been used for decades in Filipino cuisine and has now caught on in North America, especially in the form of desserts. I fell in love with the flavor of ube jam many years ago so I’m always looking for another way to use it.

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Ube Pull-Apart Bread
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Course dessert
Cuisine American, Filipino
Servings
THICK SLICES
Ingredients
Ube Halaya (Jam)
Bread Dough
Course dessert
Cuisine American, Filipino
Servings
THICK SLICES
Ingredients
Ube Halaya (Jam)
Bread Dough
Votes: 1
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Instructions
Ube Halaya (Jam) Best to make a DAY AHEAD of using
  1. In a medium, heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add coconut & condensed milks; stir until heated. Add thawed, grated ube & combine well. Cook over a low heat. It is important to stir the mixture often during cooking to prevent it from forming a ‘crust’. This process takes about 40-50 minutes until the ube is cooked. The mixture should be thick & sticky. Transfer the ube jam to a container & set aside.
Dough
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together lukewarm water, sugar & yeast & allow to sit until frothy.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the butter with milk & vanilla. Cool slightly.
  3. Pour the butter mixture into the yeast mixture and whisk together until just combined. Add the egg and beat until just combined. Slowly add the flour & salt, reserving 2 tablespoons for adjusting later.
  4. Knead the dough until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Add some or all of the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour if necessary. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough to oil the top. Cover and let rise until doubled in size about an hour.
  5. Line an 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2-inch bread pan with parchment paper.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press or roll into a 16 x 11-inch rectangle. Spread about 1 1/4 cups (about 300 gm) ube jam filling mixture evenly across the top of dough going right to the edges. On the longest side, cut the dough vertically into six strips. Stack 3 of the strips on top of one another, making 2 layers of 3 strips each. Then, using a sharp knife, carefully cut the stacks into 4 squares.
  7. Layer the 8 'piles' of squares into the loaf pan vertically. Sometimes it helps to hold the pan vertically as you are stacking. Cover pan with greased plastic wrap & a tea towel. Allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  9. Brush bread with egg wash & sprinkle with Edam cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and then tent with foil in the oven. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes.
  10. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan & sprinkle with more cheese if you wish. Serve with extra ube jam if desired.
Recipe Notes
  • I find making the Ube Halaya a day ahead is a good idea!
  • You will only need part of the amount of ube jam this recipe makes. I never have a hard time putting it to good use in other recipes or just using it as a 'jam'.
  • On my blog site there are numerous recipes such as ube cheesecakes, buns, cruffins, cake roll w/ cheese streusel, etc.

Rhubarb Rugelach

Rugelach is an irresistible baked treat which is both delicious and versatile. So, is it a pastry or a cookie? Rugelach’s unique buttery, tender dough wrapped around any variety of tasty fillings seems to straddle the line.

Rugelach was invented around the same time as the croissant, in 1683 and has Jewish (Polish) origins. The word rugelach means ‘little twists’.

Traditionally, rugelach was made with yeast dough, but the pastry has evolved and is now made with cream cheese which is both quicker and easier to make. The cream cheese dough was first used by North American bakers in the 1940’s, and now forms the staple of the modern rugelach we know today.

Many folks don’t associate the crescent-shaped cookies with Christmas but rather consider rugelach a year-round treat. That being said, I see no reason not to make some summer rhubarb rugelach.

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Rhubarb Rugelach
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Course dessert
Cuisine Jewish
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Filling
Rugelach
Nut Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine Jewish
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Filling
Rugelach
Nut Filling
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Instructions
Rhubarb Compote
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon & orange juice. Bring just to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered stirring occasionally about 10 minutes or until rhubarb is broken down; set aside to cool.
Rugelach
  1. In a cup combine water, sugar & yeast. Allow to sit until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, combine butter & flour until resembles small peas. Add eggs & the yeast mixture to the bowl. Knead the dough until smooth & soft then divide into thirds.
  3. In a small bowl, combine nut filling ingredients. Spread 1/4 cup of the nut filling on a work surface & place 1/3 of the dough on top of it. Roll dough into a circle the size of a small pizza. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of the rhubarb compote on top of the dough.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Cut the dough into 12 pieces like you would cut a pizza & roll each piece from the outside in. Place each rugelach on a parchment lined baking sheet with the point face down. Repeat with remaining dough.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
Recipe Notes
  • Due to a nut allergy problem, I had to omit the nut filling for our rugelach.

Cinnamon Beet Rolls

I always think of beets as a love-them-or-hate-them food.  You’re either all in or all out! People have been using vegetables in baking for quite some time. Think about some of the classics: carrot cake, pumpkin pie, banana bread, and zucchini loaf. Beets add moisture to baked goods along with a natural sweetness. 

In yeast breads, roasted beet puree makes for an incredibly tender crumb and moist interior thanks to the added hydration of the purée (similar to potato bread!) and a delicate crust, since the natural sugar in the beets creates more caramelization. Ultimately, the beets add a pleasantly earthy, subtly sweet flavor that enhances the rolls without overpowering them. 

The best-known baked treat made with beets is probably the Red Velvet Cake, but beets can add their deliciousness to cookies, muffins, pies and other baked goods like cinnamon rolls.

The idea of using beets to bulk up bread dough is said to have originated in Paris or Vienna or Germany.

Today the nutrition-packed beet is considered a ‘super food’, credited with everything from lowering blood pressure and increasing energy to fighting inflammation and detoxifying the body.

With that in mind, it seems like a good reason to make some cinnamon beet rolls.

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Cinnamon Beet Rolls
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
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Ingredients
Dough
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
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Instructions
Dough
  1. In a small bowl, add yeast, lukewarm water & 1 tsp sugar. Allow to sit about 10 minutes until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, 1/3 cup sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, eggs & beet puree. Mix well. Add flour, one cup at a time, until well combined. Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes or until smooth & soft. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel & allow to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Filling
  1. In a small dish, combine filling ingredients, set aside.
Assembly/Baking
  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle about 13” x 20”. Spread softened butter on rectangle & sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2 -inch border around the edges.
  2. Roll up dough lengthwise into a tight roll, pinch seams shut & place roll seam side down. Cut into 12 pieces, rotating cuts on the diagonal. Press the handle of a wooden spoon firmly on the top & center of each roll to shape.
  3. Place rolls at least 2-inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Lightly cover the rolls with buttered plastic wrap & a tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes to rise.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Brush with egg wash & sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
  • To Roast Beets: wrap individually in foil & place directly on the rack of a preheated 400 F. oven. Bake until they're fork tender but not mushy; the total time will vary depending on the size of the beets. Allow beets to cool in foil, then rub off all the skin & any rough exterior pieces. Puree beets in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
  • Alternately, you can just boil, peel & puree if you are short on time.

Blackberry Dampfbuchteln

When I was growing up, I remember my mother making something she called ‘dampfnudeln’. The taste was wonderful and as I recall, these were sweet yeast dumplings in a vanilla custard sauce. I’m not sure if they had anything in the center or not.

Dampfnudels have been a pretty big deal in Germany since the 1600s. As legend has it, during the war, a hungry Swedish army arrived in Freckenfeld, a small town in Germany. The army had threatened to murder everyone there and destroy the town, however, they agree to leave in peace if they were fed. That was the moment town baker, Johanes Muck, rose to the occasion and along with his wife and apprentice, made 1,286 dampfnudels. To honor his heroic efforts, Johanes’ grandson, built a gate known as Dampfnudeltor, made with 1,286 little stone bumps.

The people of Freckenfeld still celebrate the origins of the dumpling and the heroic baker 400 years on with an annual festival. The Dampfnudeltor is even featured in the town’s coat of arms. And if that isn’t enough not only is there a song about them, but a film too – the Dampfnudel Blues!

Traditionally, cooks steam dampfnudel dough as it bakes. Once these ingredients are mixed, they are formed into tight balls of dough and placed close together in an iron pan. The pan is covered with a lid and placed in the oven to cook. The lid is required to create the soft, noodle-like texture associated with this dish. By the time the dish is done, all the liquid will have evaporated from the dish.

Depending on whether the dish is served as a meal or a dessert, dampfnudel may have a sweet flavor. As a dessert, this dish is typically topped with a sweet vanilla sauce, or served with a rich custard. It can also be eaten with stewed fruit. As a main dish, this dough is typically served with vegetables or sauerkraut. It can also be used as side to dip in stews or soup and may even be steamed in chicken broth when served in this manner.

It seems there are endless recipes and preparations, variations on recipes and variations on variations …. ROHRNUDELN, HEFENUDELN, GERMKNODEL, DAMPFNUDELN, BUCHTELN and on and on. Basically, they are all yeast dumplings, sweet (or savory) but the preparation varies somewhat. Some are poached in a milk/sugar liquid, whereas others are baked. Some are filled, some not. Most seem to be served with a vanilla custard.

For mine, I’m trying to incorporate some blackberry compote in a soft, sweet yeast bun with some vanilla custard. I think I’ll call them ‘dampfbuchteln’. Buchteln are a typical Bohemian dish from the region in the middle of Europe that was formerly German. It was from there, that recipes like this made their way into German and Austrian kitchens. That name seems fitting, having the characteristics of both kinds of buns.

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Blackberry Dampfbuchteln
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine German
Servings
Ingredients
Blackberry Compote
Sweet Roll Dough
Vanilla Cardamom Sauce
Course dessert
Cuisine German
Servings
Ingredients
Blackberry Compote
Sweet Roll Dough
Vanilla Cardamom Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Blackberry Compote
  1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch & salt; add juice & stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Immediately remove from heat. Gradually fold in blackberries. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. I found it easier to make the compote a day ahead of the buns.
Dough
  1. In a small dish, heat milk to lukewarm. Add yeast & 1 tsp sugar; let sit for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, sour cream & egg. Add yeast mixture & stir to combine.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together flour & salt. Add flour mixture to yeast mixture, 1 cup at a time combining well after each addition. Once the flour has all been added, knead on a lightly floured surface for about 2 minutes.
  3. Lightly grease the large bowl, place dough in it & cover with plastic & a tea towel. Allow to rise for at least 1 hour in a draft free place until dough has doubled in volume.
  4. Punch dough down & turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces & roll each into a ball. Place under a tea towel so they won't dry out. Take one ball & shape it into a flat circle large enough to hold a spoonful of compote.
  5. Fold over & pinch the edges, then carefully shape into a ball again. Place in a buttered 12-inch spring form pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Cover with tea towel & let rise for another 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake buns for about 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven; cool for just a few minutes then pat with butter. When completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar if you wish.
Vanilla Cardamom Custard
  1. Sift together cornstarch, flour & cardamom. Using a whisk, combine the beaten eggs & the flour mixture until powders are dissolved. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together milk, sugar & salt. Once sugar & salt are dissolved, add in the egg mixture & keep stirring everything until the mixture is thickened. Remove from heat & stir in butter & vanilla. Nice to serve warm under the blackberry dampfbuchteln.

Polish Easter Placek

I always enjoy researching and baking traditional Easter breads. Maybe its because I have such fond memories of my mother’s Easter bread which wasn’t fancy but just ‘to die for’. This year I decided to try my hand at making some Polish Easter bread called ‘placek’.

Just for the sake of interest I wanted to post some of the various countries and their traditional Easter breads.

  • Babka (Poland, Ukraine, Belarus): a tall, cylindrical bread often baked in a Bundt-type pan and containing raisins and/or candied citron or orange peel, optionally with icing on the top, thus making it much sweeter than Paska, a broad, round, rich, white bread decorated on the top with symbols, including crosses, flowers, braids, wheat, or other designs representing aspects of Orthodox (Eastern) Christianity—made only for Easter to celebrate the rising of Christ from the dead.
  • Placek (Poland): refers to a sweet yeast bread topped with sugary crumble, with or without golden raisins served on Easter. (Pronounced plah-sek)
  • Cozonac (Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia): a slightly sweet yeast bread containing raisins and walnuts or pecans—a type of Stollen.
  • Folar (Portugal): a bread that may be either sweet or salty and is traditionally offered to godfathers, and priests at Easter in imitation of Jesus’ distribution of bread to his disciples at the Last Supper.
  • Hornazo (Spain): a yeast bread meat pie stuffed with pork loin, spicy chorizo, and hard-boiled eggs
  • Hot Cross Buns (Great Britain): a spiced sweet bun containing currants or raisins (and sometimes other dried fruits), marked on top with icing in the shape of a cross, and traditionally eaten on Good Friday.
  • Kalach (Serbia, Hungary): similar to brioche and usually baked in a braid arranged to form a circle.
  • Mazanec (Czech Republic): a sweet bread eaten throughout Holy Week made of dough containing rum soaked raisins and dried fruit, baked as a round loaf, with slivered almonds on top and a decoration made of icing or powdered sugar in the shape of a cross.
  • Osterbrot (Germany): a yeast bread containing raisins and slivered almonds and usually cut into thin slices, spread with butter, and enjoyed at breakfast or at teatime.
  • Paasstol (Netherlands): a fruit-bread containing raisins and usually filled with almond paste (also made at Christmas).
  • Pasca (Romania, Moldova): a sweet bread served with sweet soft cheese that may also be decorated with fruits, nuts, or chocolate.
  • Pasqua (Italy): a cake containing candied peel but no raisins and topped with pearl sugar and almonds before being baked in the shape of a ‘dove’.
  • Pinca (Croatia, Montenegro): a sweet bread loaf with the sign of a cross carved on top before being baked and eaten at the end of Lent.
  • Tsoureki (Greece, Armenia): a sweet holiday bread commonly seasoned with orange zest, mastic resin (from the mastic tree), or mahlab (an aromatic spice made from the pits of the Mediterranean “St. Lucy’s” cherry tree).

Hope you enjoyed reading this info as much as I did.

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Polish Easter Placek
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch
Cuisine European
Servings
Ingredients
Sponge
Crumble Topping
Course Brunch
Cuisine European
Servings
Ingredients
Sponge
Crumble Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Sponge
  1. In a bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk with sugar & allow to stand until foamy, about 15 minutes. Stir in the flour, then cover the bowl & let the sponge rise until doubled in size, 30 minutes to an hour.
Dough
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter & sugar, then add the eggs in one at a time; beat until fluffy. Add in the salt, nutmeg zest & 1 cup of flour; beat well. When the sponge is risen, add that to the creamed mixture along with the last cup of flour & the raisins. Knead dough until a very smooth, elastic, sticky dough forms.
  2. Using greased hands, place dough into a greased or buttered bowl. Cover the bowl & allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Crumble Topping
  1. Cut butter into sugar & flour until it is fully mixed in & crumbly, then stir in the almonds.
Assembly
  1. When the dough has risen, use greased or wet hands to place in greased baking pans. Sprinkle the crumble over the dough, pressing in lightly. Cover the pans, then let the dough rise until doubled or until almost risen to the top.
  2. Preheat oven to 325 F.
  3. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown on top. Let the bread cool on a wire rack,
Recipe Notes
  • I used one 12" x 5 " loaf pan & one 5" x 2" round spring form pan for this amount of dough.