Doughnut Muffins

I found a few recipes for doughnut muffins recently and I decided to try one. They are called doughnut muffins because they are made with the same basic dough as doughnuts (at least, a similar recipe to that traditional doughnuts in Baking Illustrated), but they are baked in muffins tins rather than fried. Once baked, doughnut muffins are usually dipped in melted butter and rolled in sugar. Orangette has a recipe where they are dipped in powdered sugar, but the one that looks the most appealing to me is the Baking Bites version, with granulated sugar, which I must say is more my idea of an appetizing donut. However, I skipped this step and decided to simply dust mine with powdered sugar. How you do it is up to you.

The recipe for this dough is a slightly modified version of Molly Wizenberg’s (if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’ll know her as the author of Orangette and A Homemade Life). I loved these muffins when they were still a little warm from the oven; the top was crispy and the crumb was delightfully chewy. Remember to check on them after 25 minutes in the oven; I checked on mine at about 30 minutes and they were already a bit dry. They were delicious on their own, paired with strawberry jam or served with apple juice.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
scant 1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp milk (lactose-free or not)
2 Tbsp buttermilk (or milk with a dash of lemon juice)
1 ½ sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature (or cold margarine)
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, and set a rack to the middle position. Spray a standard-size muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, and whisk to mix them thoroughly. Set aside.

Combine the milk and the buttermilk in a measuring cup, and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for a few seconds, until the butter is soft and creamy. With the motor running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture increases in volume and lightens to pale yellow. It should look light, fluffy, and wonderfully creamy, like frosting. This could take a couple of minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are just combined.



With a wooden spoon, mix ¼ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Continue to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until the dough is smooth and well combined, but do not overmix.



Divide the batter between the cups of the muffin tin. Bake until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars

I made this recipe a while back and for some reason, never got around to posting about it. Clotilde Dusoulier’s Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars were very good, not to mention very healthy. If your bananas aren’t very ripe, or if you are serving these to people with a sweet tooth, I would advise adding a spoonful of brown sugar. If you are sticking to a gluten-free diet, make sure that the oats are certified gluten-free, of course. If you want a nut-free version, you can use flour (gluten-free or not) instead of the ground almonds and olive or coconut oil instead of the almond butter.

2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
½ tsp fine salt
120 g dark chocolate chips
4 very ripe bananas
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup whole almond butter

Preheat the oven to 350 °F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, ground almonds, coconut and salt. Set aside.




In another medium mixing bowl, combine the bananas, vanilla and almond butter; mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Add the oats mixture and mix well. Fold in the chocolate gently.




Pour into the prepared baking dish, level the surface and slip in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is set and golden-brown. Let cool completely before slicing into bars (slice only what you need and cover the rest with foil; keep at room temperature).

Turkey Meatballs with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

I got this recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s blog, though it is also in her book. These meatballs were out of this world! That’s why I only have two pictures – we were too busy eating them to handle a camera. Trust me when I say that these will delight you.

For the meat, you do need a mix of white meat and dark meat. We couldn’t find ground dark-meat turkey, so we used pork, though lamb would work too. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium-high heat, mixing them so that they roast evenly. For the sauce, I recommend starting with the juice of half a lemon, and put lots of cumin. Divine!

½ pound ground white-meat turkey
½ pound ground dark-meat turkey
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 egg
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup golden raisins (chopped if they’re large)
½ cup fine bread crumbs
a few pinches ground cumin
½ tsp salt
a few pinches freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil together in a bowl, preferably using your hands. You don’t want to overwork the meat—that would make your final product tough—but you do want all ingredients to be evenly mixed. Form the mixture into balls of whatever size you like (mine were about 1 inch to 1 ½ inches).



Heat a thin film of olive oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, and sauté the meatballs in batches, so as not to crowd them. As they begin to color, turn them regularly so that they are golden on all sides. They should be done when they are evenly browned and feel medium firm—but not hard—to the touch. Place on a paper towel to catch excess oil. Serve hot, warm, or cold with yogurt sauce.

Lemon-and-Cumin Yogurt Sauce

nonfat plain yogurt (lactose-free or not)
fresh lemon juice
garlic, finely chopped
ground cumin
ground chili
salt
pepper

Mix ingredients to taste in a bowl, and keep chilled until serving.

Soufflé aux carottes

J’avais un sac de carottes qui se languissait dans le frigo. Sur un coup de tête, j’ai décidé de faire un soufflé aux carottes – après tout, j’avais une telle recette dans mon calepin, et j’en avais de très bons souvenirs, même si je ne l’avais pas faite depuis longtemps. Je suis bien contente du résultat, c’était très bon. L’Ingénieur a beaucoup apprécié aussi (malgré qu’il préfère manger les soufflés froids).

6 carottes de taille moyenne (environ 12 oz), pelées
¼ de liqueur à l’orange (comme du Grand Marnier ou du Triple Sec)
1 tasse de lait (avec ou sans lactose)
4 c. à soupe de farine tout usage
½ tasse de sucre
½ c. à thé de cannelle
4 œufs
½ tasse de beurre doux (ou de margarine sans lactose), fondu

Préchauffer le four à 350 °F. Beurrer un moule à soufflé.

Coupez les carottes en morceaux et les faire cuire à la vapeur jusqu’à ce qu’elles soient très tendres.



Mettre tous les ingrédients au robot et réduire en purée.



Verser dans le moule et faire cuire pendant 45-55 minutes, jusqu’à ce que les côtés soient dorés et que le centre soit ferme.



Servir immédiatement (si on est moi) ou servir après réfrigération pour en faire une sorte de pouding (si on est l’Ingénieur). Délicieux!

Raspberry Chocolate Mink

I found this amazing recipe on Baking Bites. I love dark chocolate and raspberries (together or separately), and the fact that this dessert was formulated to serve two sealed the deal. Not that I shared it with the Engineer, mind you; he’s not really into dark chocolate (he prefers white) and he actually doesn’t like raspberries. So I made these for myself and had them for dessert after lunch on two consecutive days. They were wonderful! The chocolate taste was perfect, the raspberries were a great addition, and they unmolded so easily, it was like a dream. I liked them both warm and cold (though I found the cold one a bit richer).



For chocolate, I used Callebaut finest dark chocolate natural vanilla. You see, I finally went to the store I had mentioned before, the one that was supposed to be amazing. It turns out that I didn’t find all I was looking for, but I did find much more than I could at my regular grocery store. Most of Aubut is like a warehouse that caters to restaurants (so everything is sold in bulk). That’s where our friends R. and J. split a 5-kg block of chocolate with us. There is also a smaller grocery store for us common mortals, and I found mostly spices and tea from my shopping list. I haven’t had the time to explore the refrigerated and frozen food sections yet. Let me just say that there is a lot of variety and that prices are excellent (especially in bulk).

Without further ado, the mink recipe:

¼ cup fresh raspberries, divided
3 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp butter or lactose-free margarine
pinch of salt
1 egg, separated
1 Tbsp sugar



Preheat oven to 350 °F and grease two 6 oz ramekins or oven safe dishes. Place a single layer of raspberries on the bottom of each ramekin. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the berries and mash gently with a fork. Set aside.

In a small bowl, over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt together chocolate and butter. Stir in a pinch of salt and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in egg yolk.



In a small bowl, beat egg white to soft peaks with the sugar. Fold half of the egg white and the mashed raspberries into the melted chocolate.



Fold in remaining white until no streaks remain. Divide evenly into prepared ramekins.



Place ramekins into a deep baking dish. Fill the dish with hot or boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes.



Remove ramekins from water bath and allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before unmolding the cakes and serving.

Alsatian Onion Tart

I had bookmarked this recipe in Orangette ages ago, and upon reading it again, I was surprised to see it didn’t contain cheese. So it’s not really like a quiche (and there’s only one egg). I used 15% cream in which I had added lactase drops and I was really pleased with the consistency of the tart. It was delicious, and easy to make. Next time I make it, though, I’ll cut the onion thinner and I’ll make short slices (as opposed to “onion ring” slices, which made the tart harder to slice neatly). Also, I cheated that evening and I used a premade tart shell, but as always, I encourage you to make your own (I almost always use Martha Stewart’s recipe myself).

1 half-recipe Martha Stewart’s pâte brisée
2 Tbsp olive oil
1-1 ½ lbs yellow onions (about 2 large), peeled and very thinly sliced
1 large egg
½ cup cream
salt
freshly ground pepper
grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Roll out the pâte brisée and line a 9-inch removable-bottom tart shell with it (or a regular 9-inch pie plate). Cover it with plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions, stirring regularly, until they are lightly golden—just beginning to caramelize—and tender. Remove the skillet from the heat.



In a small bowl, beat the egg and cream together. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.



Add this to the onions, stirring to combine.

Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator, and fill it with the onion and egg mixture.



Bake tart for 25 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and set. Serve hot or warm.

Apricot, Almond, Chocolate Chip Cookie

This recipe is from a beautiful blog called Tea & Cookies. I usually don’t like nuts in cookies, but that rule doesn’t apply here – these cookies were great. I used almonds, though I’m sure pecans would be good. I also used dark chocolate chips, though milk chocolate chips are acceptable too. And you can’t really make this recipe lactose-free if you use white chocolate chips, but the small amount of dairy in there did not affect me. Note that the dried apricots we used were organic, so they were brown (with none of the chemical that makes them stay orange once they’re dried, I guess). Once they were chopped up and mixed with the nuts and chocolate chips, it was fine, and they tasted great – it was just weird to look at them on their own. I do think it looks better with orange apricots, though.

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt, more for sprinkling on top (the latter is optional)
¾ cup melted butter or lactose-free margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
¾ cup chopped almonds
¾ cup dried apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, stir in the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.



Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended, then add the chips, almonds, and apricots.



Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle salt on top, if desired. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven (try not to overbake them). Cookies should be golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks.

Apple Jacks

They’re baaa-aaaack!!!

The Engineer made a quick trip to our corner store last night to get some drinks and some cereal, while I was making dinner. He came back and, when he showed me the box of cereals he got, my face lit up like a Christmas tree. Apple Jacks! These used to be one of my favourite cereals, and I can’t tell you how often I’ve craved them recently – you see, they were discontinued by Kellogg’s for some reason and are now only sold at special fairs. Well, as you can see on the box, these are a limited edition, but the point is: they are now in stores. Go get yours!

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed this morning, though, because they don’t taste quite like they used to. Has anyone else tried this batch? What do you think? I know the greens O’s aren't classic, but they taste the same as the orange ones, and I remember them from the 1990’s. And if you’re some of those “weirdos” from my generation who haven’t heard of these cereals, go buy some. Now!

Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

This recipe first appealed to me because I like sweet-salty pairings, so a chocolate mousse that used olive and sea salt sounded right up my alley. It has the added benefit of explaining how to pasteurize eggs to use in the mousse. My go-to chocolate mousse skips this step entirely, but since my friends are starting to have babies, I’m more aware of dietary restrictions during pregnancy than I used to be. So this mousse can be made safe for pregnant women, even though it has eggs.

I must confess that my favourite thermometer broke recently (it was in my drawer, before the latest kitchen intervention, and must have gotten banged around once too many). The Engineer and I bought a new digital thermometer instead, but it turns out that while you couldn’t ask for a better meat thermometer, its capacities for taking the temperature of a mixture in a saucepan are severely limited. So I used our old meat thermometer, but it doesn’t have a clip to hang on to the saucepan and it has a slow reaction time. Since I had one hand holding the thermometer and one hand whisking the eggs (periodically removing the thermometer so I could whisk better), I ever-so-slightly missed the point at which I should have removed the eggs from the heat: they started to scramble a bit. So I decided to start over and this time, I didn’t use the thermometer, but removed the eggs from the heat when they started to look like they had right before it was too late. I didn’t care about the precise temperature, since I have no qualms about eating raw eggs. That being said, we will invest in a new thermometer with a saucepan clip, so we can do it more precisely next time.

I used the Scharffen Berger chocolate I had brought back from Vermont, and seriously, quality chocolate makes all the difference. There was no sugar in this recipe (only a little maple syrup), but the chocolate was so good that I didn’t miss the sweetness (but of course, I’m addicted to dark chocolate; those who are not might want to add a bit more maple syrup). As far as chocolate mousses go, this one is remarkably healthy!

In the end, I didn’t use sea salt flakes to finish the dish; I made lavender salt by crushing sea salt with lavender flowers. This salt was also great on chicken roasted with Dijon mustard. Of course, it’s entirely optional, don’t feel like you have to do this!



Here is the recipe.

2 eggs, thoroughly beaten
¾ cup whole milk
6 oz good-quality semi-sweet dark chocolate, in pieces
¼ cup finishing-quality olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tiny pinch fine salt
sea salt or lavender salt, to serve

Whisk the milk and eggs together, beating for at least a minute. Put in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Put a thermometer into the milk mixture and carefully heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 160 °F. Take off the heat.

In another small, heavy saucepan (a double-boiler is safer), put the chocolate over low heat. Heat slowly, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Take off the heat and stir in the olive oil.


I can finally create a double boiler with my new metal bowls.



This is the chocolate as it is starting to melt. Notice how the eggs next to it look a little scrambled...



Smooth, melted chocolate.



My second try at the eggs - the texture is much better.


Add the milk and egg mixture to a blender or food processor, along with the maple syrup, vanilla, and a pinch of fine salt. Blend to combine.



With the food processor or blender running, slowly pour in the chocolate mixture and blend until well combined. The final mix will be frothy and smooth.

Fill four 6-oz ramekins and put in the refrigerator to chill. The mousse will take about three hours to set.



Serve with just a pinch of rough salt.

Bœuf bourguignon

Le bœuf bourguignon de ma mère est un plat que j’adore. Il n’est pas exactement rapide (comptez environ 30 minutes de préparation active et 2 h 40 minutes de cuisson au four), mais il n’est pas compliqué du tout. C’est idéal pour un après-midi de fin de semaine, et les restes se congèlent bien. Je vous donne sa recette, qu’elle m’a elle-même donné récemment. Et j’ajoute plein de photos pour ceux et celles qui ont peur de rater une étape.

2 lb d’intérieur de ronde de bœuf, coupé en cubes de 2 pouces
½ tasse de beurre non salé (ou de margarine) (donc 8 c. à soupe)
1 c. à soupe d’huile d’olive
1 oignon, finement tranché
1 c. à soupe de farine
2 gousses d’ail, écrasées ou émincées (au goût)
1 feuille de laurier et du thym séché
poivre et sel, au goût
1 bouteille de vin rouge
6 tranches de bacon, en morceaux (ou des lardons)
20 oignons perlés
½ lb de champignons de Paris
persil frais, haché (facultatif)

Préchauffer le four à 300 °F.
Bien sécher la viande avec des essuie-tout (elle ne brunira pas si elle est trop humide). Faire fondre 6 c. à soupe de beurre dans un faitout. Ajouter l’huile, puis la viande.



Faire revenir la viande à feu élevé jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit dorée, puis ajouter l’oignon tranché. Faire cuire jusqu’à ce que l’oignon soit transparent, saupoudrer de la farine et mélanger pour qu’elle enrobe bien la viande. Faire cuire encore quelques minutes. (Ici, vous pouvez aussi ajouter 3 c. à soupe de brandy et l’allumer, mais je m’en passe.)




Ajouter l’ail, la feuille de laurier, le thym, le poivre et le sel. Mélanger et verser assez de vin rouge pour recouvrir la viande. Faire mijoter le mélange, puis couvrir le faitout et le mettre au centre du four pendant 2 heures.



Pendant ce temps, faire cuire le bacon dans une poêle jusqu’à ce qu’il soit croustillant. Ajouter les oignons perlés et faire cuire jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient dorés (ajouter du beurre s’il le faut).




Mettre le bacon et les oignons dans le faitout et mélanger. Faire cuire encore 30 minutes.
Faire sauter les champignons dans la même poêle (ajouter le reste du beurre s’il le faut); les ajouter au faitout et mélanger. Faire cuire encore 10 minutes.



Saupoudrer de persil et servir.
(Ici, j’ai servi avec du couscous, parce que je me suis rendu compte à la dernière minute que je n’avais pas pensé au plat d’accompagnement, trop fière d’avoir fait du bœuf bourguignon! C’est bon aussi avec des pommes de terre et des carottes.)