Cinnamon Rolls

I found this recipe on Joy the Baker a long time ago and have made these rolls many times. They always come out the same: soft, fluffy, buttery and not at all dry or dense. The instructions on her site were very informative and clear so I almost did not change anything. I just increased the amount of cinnamon because 1/3 tsp seemed too little for me and also omitted some spices but you can definitely add them if you like. I also baked the rolls in a springform pan, not in the cupcake cups. I just find them more gooey and softer this way! I definitely prefer the center to the edge. So this may take longer to bake. Keep an eye on them. It's difficult to say when they are baked. It depends a lot on your oven and how well they rise before baking.

Recipe adapted from here.

Cinnamon Rolls

Sponge:
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
63g/1/2 cup bread flour
160ml/2/3 cup milk, cold
4 tsp honey

Final dough:
125g/1 cup bread flour
188g/1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
85g/6 tbsp butter, cold
1/3 tsp cardamom (omitted)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon zest
50g/1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
75g/1/3 cup sugar
100g/1/2 cup brown sugar
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (omitted)
2 tbsp butter, softened 

Icing:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp milk (needed more)
1/8 tsp orange zest (omitted)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (omitted)

1) Mix the sponge: 

Combine all of the dry ingredients followed lastly by the milk and honey. Stir to combine, then cover with the flours and the salt from the final dough. Allow to ferment at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2) In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling and set aside.  Butter 2 springform pans.

3) Begin the final dough:  

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter until smooth and pale.  Add the sugar, lemon zest and spices and continue creaming at medium speed for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until combined. The mixture will look very wet, and curdled. 

4) Add the flour covered sponge to the butter mixture.  Mix on low speed until evenly combined. On medium speed, continue to mix for 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on low speed until smooth and satiny. If the dough is sticking a lot to the sides of the bowl, add all purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Mixing with the dough hook takes about 5 minutes. You can finish with a minute or two of hand kneading if you like.  

5) Place the dough in a lightly greased and floured bowl. Next, tuck greased plastic wrap around the dough so that no air can enter. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl. Bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

6) Flip the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. With a floured hand, pat the dough roughly into a rectangle. Lift the left side of the dough and fold it over almost to the right side of the dough, leaving about 5cm of room. Lift the right side and fold it all the way over to the left. Lift the bottom of the dough, the side closest to you, and fold it almost to the top of the dough, leaving about 1cm. Lastly, fold the top of the dough all the way down towards you. Return the dough to the bowl and cover as before, leaving it for 30 minutes.  

7) On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a rectangle 40cm high and 30cm long.

8) Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar filling. Beginning with the long edge, roll up the dough and cinnamon sugar filling. Brush the edge of the seam with water and pinch closed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

9) Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 2,5-3 cm rolls. Place cinnamon rolls into the round pan, leaving some space for them to expand while baking. Cover the sliced cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and allow to rest and almost double in size, about 50 minutes. If the room is very warm from the oven, they will proof in as little as 35 minutes.

10)Bake for 10-15 minutes (or longer), keeping an eye on them after 10 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in pan on rack for about 20 minutes. Remove form pan, and when completely cool, drizzle with glaze.  

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

 

Muffins have to be large. So I took my ramekins and poured the batter into them instead of using standard muffin cups. 

I healthified these a little bit. I used spelt flour and instead of all-purpose flour. Of course, these would be awesome with all-purpose flour too. Then I only added a small amount of butter and sugar. But banana added the moisture and sweetness to these little cakes. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
 

50g butter, softened
90g white sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g/1 cup spelt flour (or use all-purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
90g dark chocolate chips or chunks

1) Preheat oven to 180°C.

2) Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, banana and vanilla extract.  

3) In another bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

4) Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate.

5) Lightly grease 6 ramekins and fill them with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the ramekins. You may serve these warm or cold. 

Recipe by collecting memories

Chocolate Granola Bars (no-bake)

I used to buy granola bars. I used to be so addicted to them. But since I learned how to make them at home, I never buy them again. Okay, just sometimes.

This was the first time I made granola bars with chocolate. And THESE turned out amazing. Imagine a soft, chewy, sweet bar packed with juicy raisins, chocolate and an amazing coconut aroma. It was so hard to resist eating the whole batch at once.. But I was strong enough to save some for the next day. And it's so great to know that what you eat is actually healthy. Oh come on, stop reading and give these a try.

Chocolate Granola Bars (no-bake)
2 cups quick cooking oats
50ml unrefined coconut oil
5-6 tbsp honey
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder (use high-quality!)
20-25g dark chocolate, chopped
100g golden raisins, chopped

1) In a small saucepan, melt together coconut oil and honey. Mix in cocoa powder and stir just until there are no lumps and the mixure is smooth.  Remove from heat.

2) In a medium bowl, mix together oats, chocolate and raisins. Stir in the coconut oil/honey mixture and stir until combined. Press into 10x22cm loaf pan and place in the fridge. Refrigerate at least 3 hours and cut into squares. Store in refrigerator (if it isn't very hot you may store them at room temperature)

Recipe by collecting memories

Banana Carrot Bars (Oil, Butter & Sugar Free)

Here's another easy recipe for healthyish snack bars. As these contain bananas, carrots and applesauce there's no need to add sugars. It's sweet enough with only 4 tablespoons of honey and, moreover, honey gives moistness which keeps for many days. It's a perfect snack for school or tea-time!

Banana Carrot Bars (Oil, Butter & Sugar Free)
50g oat flour

100g all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

1 tbsp wheat bran (optional)

½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

4tbsp (~50ml) honey

70ml buttermilk (or milk)

1 large egg, beaten

4 tbsp applesauce

1 large overripe banana, mashed

1 large carrot, shredded 

1) Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Prepare a 20x20cm silicone baking dish.

2) In a small bowl, combine together all-purpose flour, oat flour, baking powder, salt, wheat bran and pumpkin pie spice. 

3) In another bowl, combine together buttermilk, honey and egg.

4) In a large mixing bowl, mix together applesauce, banana and carrot.

5) Add buttermilk mixture to the banana mixture, stir to combine. Add the flour mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture to the baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Recipe by collecting memories

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Couple weeks ago I made a pumpkin pie bread and added some ground oats into the batter. The taste was so good, there was something different about that dessert. And then I realised that I found a new favourite combination - pumpkin and oatmeal. These two ingredients taste amazing together and I immediately started thinking of other desserts where pumpkin and oats could be used. As I wanted to make pumpkin crumb bars for a long time, I decided to make the crust out of oats. And voila, the experiment turned out great! These bars came out delicious. An oatmeal crust, a soft and creamy pumpkin filling and sweet crunchy crumbs drizzled with some white chocolate. Oh, and as usually, I added just a small amount of fats and white flour. So these are healthy, too!

Crust:

25g butter, melted
2 tbsp honey, melted
125g ground oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg yolk
25g all purpose flour

Filling:

2 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used homemade)
60g unrefined light brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla sugar
100g sour cream
25g all purpose flour


Crumb topping:

25g butter, cold
1 tsp cinnamon
40g flour
40g light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

White Chocolete, to drizzle (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C.

Make the crust:
1) In a medium bowl, combine together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, salt and cinnamon. Add egg yolk. Add butter and honey and and mix until well combined. Press the mixture into a 20x20cm baking dish. Set aside.

Make the filling:
2) In a large bowl, beat egg and egg white. Add light brown sugar, vanilla sugar, sour cream and beat until very well combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix. Finally, add flour and mix just until combined. Spread the mixture over the crust and set aside.

Make the crumb topping:
3) In a small bowl, combine together cinnamon, flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and throw into flour mixture. Using your hands, knead the butter into the mixture so all the sugar/flour is incorporated into butter. Sprinkle the crumbs onto the pumpkin filling.

4) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

5) Let cool completely on a wire rack and transfer to the fridge. Refrigerate overnight and cut into squares. 

Recipe by collecting memories