Eccles Cakes for the Royal Wedding

We've been keeping so busy with Easter, Earth Day, building a chicken coop, and the arrival of spring to the back yard, that I hadn't given much thought to the impending royal wedding.

Then last Saturday, over at my in-laws, my sister and I browsed a small stack of magazines dedicated to Will, Kate and big event. The ring! The story! The romance! I fell hard for the whole package.

The next day I bookmarked The Website, followed the Twitter account and even took a peak at the You Tube channel.

It's pretty magical, you have to admit. A prince, struck with tragedy so young, forever in the public eye, now marrying for love.

My mother married a British man nearly 40 years ago, my dear dad. I was delighted when she told me today that she was making her wedding cake again - a traditional English fruitcake- in honour of the royal wedding. She was also planning to rise at 3 am, go over to her sisters (my parents don't have TV) and watch the whole shebang. Mom, you are so cool.

Of course I've done a bit of baking of my own. Buttermik Scones are prepared for tomorrow's breakfast and wedding viewing. Although I'll be playing catch up online. No 3 am wake up for this mama.

If you're looking for an accompaniment to your tea tomorrow, may I suggest Eccles Cakes? Imagine a layer of black currants and sugar pressed between two sheets of puff pastry and baked to a crisp, caramelized delicious morsel. They've been a favorite of mine forever. That British background working its influence on my palate, I guess.

This particular interpretation of a classic British tea-time treat is more of a Canadian version of the original tea cakes of Eccles, England. With only three ingredients it is fast to make and you can easily whip up a batch for afternoon tea. So put the kettle on.


Eccles Cakes

ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs puff pastry, chilled
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup currants

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Plump currants in hot water 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

Roll chilled dough in a floured surface in to a rectangle 3/16 inch thick. Put aside for a moment while removing all dusting flour. Sprinkle the work surface generously with sugar and continue rolling dough to 1/8 inch thickness.


Trim the piece in to a precise rectangle. Cover half the dough solidly with currants in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Fold the remaining half of the dough over the top of the currants.

Gently press a rolling pin over the entire surface until the black currants show through the sheet of thin dough. The result is a nice speckled appearance.

With a knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough into 2-inch squares and place 1-2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Place in the refrigerator to relax the dough for 25 minutes while the oven heats.


Reheat oven to 375F.

Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven. When the bottoms have caramelized and are light brown, carefully turn the cakes over and finish baking. ( I forgot to do this step, so my tops are less caramelized.)

Place cakes on rack to cool. Enjoy!

Ed note: excerpts and photos from this post were previously published in October, 2007.

Tips for a Peaceful Mother's Day (via Simple Bites)

It's Mother's Day this Sunday!

Don't worry, I've got you covered with my latest post over at Simple Bites:

How to Have Peace, Serenity AND Breakfast in Bed on Mother’s Day.

From the post...

By simply planning ahead and offering a few instructions/suggestions for the well-wishers, I increase my chances of getting a speedy and tasty breakfast in bed, minimize kitchen disasters, and ensure a relaxed start to the day for all.

Click through for a full confessional, helpful to-do lists for the whole family and a basic scone recipe to bookmark.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lemon-Ginger Cream Scones

It's atrocious that I don't yet have a scone recipe on this blog. I guess it's because for the longest time I've viewed scones are mere transportation for the good stuff: jam.

I've finally found a recipe worthy of my attention: delicate cream scones flavored with fresh lemon zest and ginger two ways. Not only is their make ahead feature terribly convenient, but their tender crumb and winning flavor combination bump them to the top of my breakfast baking list.

These scones are guaranteed to hold the spotlight no matter what they are accompanied with.

Thanks to Jennifer from Mama's Minuta for passing along the recipe.

Lemon-Ginger Cream Scones
Slightly adapted (but not edited) from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

12 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes and frozen
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped and then chilled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2/3 cup crystallized ginger, chopped fairly small

For the topping:
2 teaspoons cream
2-3 tablespoons demerara sugar

Put the chilled cubes of butter in a food processor along with the flour, sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, salt, and zest. Pulse for 10-15 seconds until there are no longer any large lumps. (Or, if you prefer, grate the butter on a box grater into the flour mixture, and combine gently with your fingers.)

Dump the mixture into a large bowl and add the crystallized ginger. Fold in the whipped cream. Knead the dough lightly, shape it into a ball, and then press it into a disk that is 6 inches in diameter and about 3/4 inches thick. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for about an hour.

After the dough has chilled (do not omit that step as the dough is very tender and will lose its shape if it is not sufficiently firm when it goes into the oven), remove it from the fridge, unwrap it, and cut it into eight wedges. Place the wedges on a lightly greased baking sheet, brush the tops with cream and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Any leftover scones should be stored in a tightly sealed plastic bag in the freezer; to thaw, remove them from the bag and set on a plate.

Do ahead: Rose suggests flash-freezing the cut, raw scones and then storing them in a plastic bag in the freezer. When ready to bake, simply place them on the baking sheets, brush with cream, sprinkle with sugar, and bake. Add 5-7 minutes to the baking time.

I tried this with excellent success and will now carry a secret stash of frozen scones in my freezer for impromptu afternoon tea.

Yeast 101 Tutorial and Easter Egg Bread

Photo and bread by Lynn Craig

We've got a fabulous Yeast 101 tutorial today on Simple Bites for those of you may feel slightly skiddish about working with yeast.

Our post Taming the Yeast: Easter Egg Bread not only gives tips on how to feel confident when working with yeast, but shows, step-by-step, how to execute a lovely festive loaf.

Create this easy, yet impressive Easter Egg Braided Bread and show your friends this Easter

"Look, it has risen indeed!"

Head here for the tutorial and recipe...

Happy Easter, everyone!

Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake

Danny celebrates his birthday on July 1st, which is Canada Day. He has always liked having his birthday on that particular National holiday as there is sure to be a party or an event happening, but I feel that as a result of all the festivities, his birthday tends to take a backseat. Usually there's some sort of brunch, then a mad dash downtown to stake a spot on the sidewalk for the parade. This is generally followed by an ice cream outing and an afternoon poolside with friends and family. If we can muster up any energy after that, we'll catch an open air concert in the evening and some fireworks in Montreal's Old Port. Not much time in there to bake a cake, you'll notice, so this year I was happy the birthday boy requested something simple.



A wonderful recipe from bon appétit, this Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake was just the kind of simple recipe we needed to quickly put together after a long day. It was so easy, Noah did most of the work, relishing in the thought that he was creating his daddy's birthday cake. Fireworks were going off in the distance as we ate the cake warm from the oven and the candles melted into it, but it was so good, no one minded; definitely worth missing fireworks for.


With a cake like this, the person of honour is bound to feel special, as I know Danny did, no matter how many other things are going on. Greek-style yogurt keeps it very moist, and a decadent vein of brown sugar-pecan streusel running through the center makes it hard to eat just one piece.


Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake
From Bon Appetit magazine
Serves 9

Ingredients:

Streusel

2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1/2 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped


Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup whole-milk or reduced-fat (2%) plain Greek-style yogurt*

*A thick yogurt; sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Greek markets. If unavailable, spoon regular yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to drain.


Preparation:

Streusel: Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted butter; toss with fork to blend. Using fingertips, rub mixture together until small clumps form. Mix in pecans. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.


Cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
Butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, butter, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add half of flour mixture; beat just until blended. Add yogurt; beat just until blended. Beat in remaining flour mixture just until blended.

Spoon half of batter into prepared baking pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle half of streusel evenly over batter. Spoon remaining batter in dollops over streusel, then spread evenly over with offset spatula. Sprinkle remaining streusel evenly over top.

Bake cake until streusel topping is brown and tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature

Blueberry Maple French Toast

This will be short as I'm packing for a mini-weekend getaway with Danny and I'm nowhere nearly ready.
I used to be an organized packer, but apparently motherhood has turned me into a scattered, last minute throw-it-all-in-the-duffel kind of packer. It doesn't help to have the added pressure of remembering each child's appropriate stuffed animal and sippy cup, OR ELSE. Heaven forbid they should show up at the grandparents without them.

Anyway! We're off to travel Quebec's wine route in the Eastern Townships on a much deserved break. It's been two years since New York, our last getaway as a couple with no kids.

I wouldn't leave you high and dry for a recipe so here's a strong recommendation for your weekend breakfast: Deep-Dish Blueberry Maple French Toast. Yesterday I hung out over at Endless Simmer and shared this recipe with their readers, not to mention a personal glimpse into a weekend morning here at UtHC.

So jump over to visit the ES gang and be sure to bookmark this French Toast for your brunch! It's PRI-tty amazing.

Tootles.

Nine Easter Brunch Ideas

Gathering with friends or family for bunch any day is always special, but there is something about a brunch on Easter weekend that I especially love. It might even be my favorite holiday event. Why? Maybe it's because it is one holiday where there is no last minute scramble for gifts, no turkey to take up all the space in the fridge, and no tacky red and white decorations. (respectively, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine's). I'm also a sucker for spring flowers-bulbs of any kind-and the abundance of chocolate everywhere sure doesn't hurt.

This year we're invited out for brunch, so I'm not cooking, but I am contributing some Lemon Poppyseed Madeleines and Current Scones. Neither recipe, I am just now noting, are available to you on this blog. I am such a slacker!
Please accept these suggestions in their stead. Most of these breakfast/brunch favorites can be easily transported and would make a lovely hostess gift if you are not entertaining at home, but rather brunching out.

Let's start with bagels, shall we, because the kind of brunch I want to go to is one that has a bagel and lox bar. You know the kind I'm talking about: a mountain of smoked salmon or lox, lemon wedges, chopped fresh dill, cream cheese, capers, sliced red onion and beautiful, plentiful bagels.
Fortunately these freeze well, so you can get the real work out of the way a week or so in advance. Serve lightly toasted.

Homemade Bagels

For those who prefer the sweeter side of a brunch...

Spiced Apple-Raspberry Cake

Guaranteed to keep the children happy...

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

For the dedicated baker or the early riser...

Sourdough Cinnamon Doughnuts

For the planner... this recipe is great because it can all be assembled the night before. In the morning just pop it in the oven, make coffee and whip the cream!

Blueberry Baked French Toast

On the savory side and using seasonal ingredients...

Asparagus Gruyere Tart

If the perfect muffin is your ideal way to start the day, then here are two easy recipes. The hardest part? Deciding which kind to make.

Chocolate-Raspberry Oat Muffins

Butternut Squash Muffins with Citrus-Sour Cream Topping

Finishing on a lemon theme...

Lemon Drenched Lemon Cake

Happy brunching everyone and remember, everything must be served with a side of bacon!

DIY: Bagel Tutorial and More History.

How does working from 5AM 'till 10PM, seven days a week, in a remote location, for an entire summer sound? Ten years ago to me, it sounded like a pretty good plan…

Here’s a bit more history for you.

Flashback to 1999 in Northern British Columbia. I’m 19, no serious plans for the summer except slinging food in the mediocre bistro where I am presently employed, wishing to get out of my small town and see some of the world.
I get a phone call from George (same George as in this post but he had since moved to Vancouver) and he has a proposal.

“How would you like to be my sous-chef at a fly-in fishing resort on the BC coast for the summer? Financially, it’s very attractive.”

“What’s the catch?” I ask.

“Well, let's see, the workload is extremely heavy, there is no contact with the outside world except snail mail once in a while, and once you’re in, that’s it, you can’t change your mind.”

“Hmm, sounds like fun." I say. "I can be ready in a few weeks”.

And that’s how I found myself on a small floating fishing lodge in a quiet inlet on the Pacific Ocean, cooking three square meals a day for 35 people, and having some of the best adventures of my teenage years. Although the working hours were long and the nights very short, the benefits almost balanced out the hardships: whale watching, crabbing and fishing, sandy beaches and the sheer beauty of British Columbia's rugged coastline in my backyard.

Life there revolved around one thing: the King Salmon. Clients didn’t pay the big bucks to fly in on a little Otter float plane just to taste my cooking (although luckily for them, it was a big bonus) but for the thrill of reeling in one of these beautiful fish. While they took home anything they caught, we always had plenty of fresh-caught salmon on hand for eating that the staff reeled in. George constructed a smoker and smoked huge fillets of the scarlet fish while I baked the best thing to complement smoked salmon: bagels.


When the guests came in for lunch at 11:30, ravenous from a morning's work in the fresh sea air, they were treated to a decadent lunch of piping hot bagels, home-smoked salmon and the fixings.
No wonder the staff said that that summer had the best food they had ever experienced--probably no one else put the love into their cooking that George and I did, and everyone knows that's what makes the difference!
I made enough money in that eleven week job posting to take the next half-year off and travel and that's just what I did. I bought my first camera-a Pentax- and a one way ticket to....but wait, that is another chapter entirely and not for this post.

My family has been making these bagels for as long as I can remember and to me they are the very best I have ever tasted. While I know they might not be the definition of 'the perfect bagel', to me they are just that, and a whole lot more because I grew up eating them. My boys already love them, so things are going to stay this way for at least another generation.

Aimée's Family Bagel Recipe

(adapted from The Breads of France by Bernard Clayton Jr.)
Makes 16 large bagels

Dough:
3 Cups warm water
4 Tbsps yeast
1/4 cup Sugar
2 Tbsps Salt
7 Cups All-Purpose Flour (approx)

Toppings to taste:
diced onions, poppy, sesame or caraway seeds, etc...

Boiling Water:
2 quarts water
1 Tbsp sugar

Glaze:
1 Egg white
1 Tbsp water
Coarse salt

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, pour water and yeast. Stir to dissolve, and leave for 2-3 minutes until yeast is creamy. Stir in sugar and salt. Add 4 cups of flour, and beat at low speed for 1 minute, then turn to high for 3 minutes. Stop mixer and add balance of flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick batter. When it becomes difficult to stir, remove from bowl and work with your hands on the counter. Knead dough for about 8 minutes. Dough should be firm - add more flour if sticky.


Return dough to clean, greased bowl. Cover it tightly with plastic film and allow to rise for 1 hour. During the rising period, prepare water in a large 4-1/2 litre pot. Bring to a boil, and add sugar (the sugar will give the bagels a nice sheen when the come out of the water). Cover and leave simmer on low. Grease 2 baking sheets with oil and sprinkle generously with cornmeal. Whisk together water and egg white for glaze and set aside. Prepare toppings of choice and reserve.
Preheat oven to 450F.



Shaping!
Turn dough onto work surface and punch down. With a sharp knife, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball as shown on video above. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes.



With your thumb, press deep into the center of the ball, and tear open a hole with the fingers. Watch the video above for a complete demonstration on the shaping. Place formed bagels together on the work surface, cover with a towel and leave until dough is slightly raised - about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring your water to a low boil. Gently lift bagels, one at a time, and lower into the hot water. Do not do more than 2 or 3 at a time. Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip them over in the water using a slotted spoon, and cook for another 15 seconds. Lift out with the slotted spoon, and place on your baking sheet. Repeat with all the bagels. Brush with egg glaze and dress them up with the topping of your choice and a sprinkling of coarse salt before popping them in the oven.


Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Keep an eye on them so that the bottoms don't burn. Remove from oven, cool on a rack and enjoy!
These bagels freeze beautifully and toast up well for a perfect breakfast.

Orange Madeleines and a Holiday Relapse Recap

I seem to be having a hard time saying goodbye to the holiday season and here we are almost two weeks into January. Valentine's decorations are up in store fronts and my neighbor tossed her Christmas tree a long time ago (like on Boxing Day); everyone seems to be moving on except moi.

I'm not a sentimentalist, it's not like I am hanging onto decorations or playing carols over and over (dear me, I've had quite enough of those thank you), it's more of that relaxed, unmotivated feeling that comes from no real schedule to speak of and too many late nights.
Quite honestly, I blame the cozy zen mornings I've been having with the little ones, snowed in with a real Winter Wonderland outside, reading the new books they got for Christmas and munching on the remains of the stolen and panettone. I don't have to head back to school like some of my friends and I have no job to report to at 9AM that will shake me out of my White Christmas reverie, so what's to prevent me from extending the holiday cheer a little longer?

One such relaxed morning was spent looking back at the photos from the past month and in doing so I realized I had a few food related shots that I could potentially share. A photo recap of sorts--or a relapse back into winter holidays, call it what you like.
So indulge me this one last jingle and then I promise I'll eat the remaining lonely gingerbread man left in the freezer and move on with my life.


We enjoyed these madeleines fresh out of the oven on Christmas morning. The batter is a cinch to whip up the night before and all you have to do in the morning is bake them while you are brewing the coffee.


Orange Madeleines Makes 2 dozen
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup plus 2 T sugar
2 Tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1 vanilla bean, halved & scraped
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, and sugar; set aside. Add the orange zest to the cooled butter, stir to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla bean seeds and salt and mix until frothy. Whisk in reserved flour mixture to combine. With a whisk, fold in the butter mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter two 12-mould madeleine pans, and dust with flour. With two small spoons, spoon batter into moulds, filling about halfway. Bake, rotating pans if needed, until the edges are a light brown and tops spring back gently when pressed, 12-14 minutes.

Immediately invert madeleines onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Christmas Morning Muffins

On Christmas morning, I like to start off the day with some fruit and something fresh from the oven such as madeleine's, panettone or stolen. Sure, later on there will be bacon, sausages and the works, but I'm talking about early in the morning, with my coffee and presents, I like warm baking.


This holiday I believe I will be turning out Nigella's Christmas Morning Muffins for our little family. Perfumed with the zest from the clementines and sweetened with the juice, these muffins are rightly named. Red cranberries give them some holiday color and as they are full of spices, they give the kitchen a wonderful smell when they are baking.


I'm loving my new cookbook, Nigella Christmas, which was an early present from Danny. (Here Jasmine reviews the cookbook) I'm doing her Stuffed Loin of Pork with Rubied Gravy for Christmas Eve dinner: pork loin stuffed with bacon and cranberries and wrapped in bacon. How amazing is that?!
This is my first Nigella cookbook, and hmm, she really loves her bacon. We'd get along great.


Here's the recipe. I've cut back on the amount of dried cranberries and am temped to throw some dark chocolate chunks in next time. It IS Christmas, after all.

Christmas Morning Muffins
Adapted from Nigella Christmas

Makes 12 large
250g flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
100g sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of fresh nutmeg
2 clementines
approx 125ml milk
75 ml vegetable oil (or melted butter)
1 egg
100g dried cranberries
3 teaspoons demerara sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a muffin with papers and set aside.
Measure the flour baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and spices into a large bowl; grate the zest of the clementines over and combine. If you are doing this in advance, leave the zesting till Christmas morning.
Squeeze the juice of the clementines into a measuring jug and pour in the milk until it comes to the 200ml mark.
Add the oil or butter and egg, and lightly beat until just combined.
Pour this liquid mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients and stir gently until well combined.
Fold in the cranberries, then spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle with demerara if desired.
Bake for 20 minutes or so until tops are firm to the touch.

DIY: Panettone

I probably should be doing something else right now like packing a healthy snack for tomorrow's little ring bearer, or ironing his baby brother's wedding pants. The clock is ticking toward midnight and I'm going to have bags under my eyes and ugly fingernails at tomorrow's family wedding, because instead of being responsible, I am bringing you this panettone.


I just couldn't wait to share this recipe; it was so much fun to make, every step of the way! Translated from Italian and meaning 'big bread', this panettone was a thrill to make at home. Once I had found the right baking mould (thanks to Ares Cuisine $.99 each), I was set. While there's nothing particularly exotic about the ingredients, the process of bringing them together--the lemon zest, the rum-soaked raisins, and all those eggs--was an intoxicating rush for a home baker like me. (and it wasn't because I was sampling the rum, either)


Turns out it was a bit of a photographers dream too...It posed so prettily, even when sliced open to reveal it's creamy interior. This wedge disappeared pretty fast with my cup of tea. Luckily the recipe makes a big batch, so there's some in the freezer for Christmas morning.


Panettone

Adapted from Canadian Living
Servings: 2 large loaves, 24 slices each

1/4 cup (50 ml) brandy or rum
3/4 cup (175 mL) golden raisins
1/2 cup (125 mL) candied mixed peel
1/2 cup (125 mL) candied citron
8-3/4 cups (2.175 L) all-purpose flour (approx)
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (175 mL) warm milk
2 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 tbsp/25 mL)
6 eggs 6 egg yolks
1 tbsp (15 mL) each grated orange and lemon rind
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) unsalted butter, softened

Preparation:
In a glass measuring cup, microwave rum at high for about 20 seconds. Add raisins and let stand until plump, about one hour. Drain and reserve raisins.
In small bowl, combine raisins, candied peel and citron. Add 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the flour; toss to coat. Set aside.
In separate bowl, dissolve 1 tsp (5 mL) of the sugar in warm milk. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, orange and lemon rinds and vanilla until combined; stir into milk mixture.
In large bowl, stir together 4 cups (1 L) of the flour, remaining sugar and salt. With wooden spoon, stir in egg mixture all at once. Add butter all at once; stir until blended. Gradually stir in remaining flour to make soft somewhat lumpy dough. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead for about 8 minutes or until soft, smooth and elastic, adding up to 1/3 cup (75 mL) more flour if needed. Lightly dust with flour; cover with tea towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
Flatten dough into 15-inch (38 cm) circle; top with raisin mixture. Fold dough over mixture; pinch to seal. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes or until raisin mixture is evenly distributed. Place in large greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Grease two 2 lb (1 kg) coffee cans or panettone moulds. If using cans, line bottoms and sides with parchment paper to extend 1 inch (2.5 cm) above top; wrap outsides and bottoms with double thickness of foil. Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half; roll each into ball. Place, seam side down, in can. Cover and let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.

With serrated knife, cut X on top of each loaf. Bake on baking sheet on lowest rack of 350ºF (180ºC) oven for about 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, covering tops lightly with foil if browning too quickly.
Let cool in cans on rack for 1 hour. Remove from cans by gently pulling paper; let cool completely on rack.

Tip: Baking panettone in a variety of can sizes is not traditional but does allow you to share some of this splendid treat with those at the top of your gift list. For small panettone, use 10 to 28 oz (284 to 796 mL) cans. Make ball of dough small enough to fill can just under halfway. Let rise as in recipe; bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Playing with Pumpkin: Pumpkin Muffins with Golden Raisins

I never really liked muffins until just a few years ago. Every one I encountered was dry, tasteless, crumbly and completely devoid of any personality. I have finally experimented with enough recipes to have a few types in my repertoire that are always fantastic...but even they get a little boring.
I was skeptical of this recipe from wholeliving.com as I was sure the addition of whole wheat flour would make them heavy, just like the muffins we ate when I was growing up--healthy, oh you bet, but they were like little hockey pucks with flavor!


I could not have been more pleasantly surprised by this recipe! They were tender, oh-so-moist, and had just enough of that spiced pumpkin flavor to feel like a true autumn muffin.
I ate at least three during the little coffee percolator photo shoot.
I am thrilled to have another moist and memorable muffin recipe under my belt and an eager to try some variations. With dark chocolate chunks, maybe? Dried apples?
It's going to be a great winter after all!


Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Golden Raisins

adapted from 'Pumpkin Muffins'
Makes 24 medium muffins.

3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons more for sprinkling
1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush muffin tins with oil; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, spices, and baking soda; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk oil, pumpkin puree, yogurt, eggs, and 1 cup sugar to combine; add raisins and reserved dry ingredients. Mix just until moistened (do not overmix).
4. Divide evenly and spoon batter into muffin tins; sprinkle tops with remaining sugar (I skipped this part) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan.

Rise and Shine

I'm not a person who obsesses over weight. I hate diets and diet talk, am not up to date on the latest weight-loss novelties, and most health-related jargon goes in one ear and out the other. My sister insists it's because I don't have to worry about my weight, but I insist right back that's not true. Even if I hadn't inherited my mother's metabolism--she's about 105 soaking wet--I would still eat whatever I wanted. Anyone who knows me can attest to my 'cherry on top' approach to eating. Yes, I want whipping cream on my Cafe Mocha, butter and cream cheese on my bagel, and bacon with everything.

However, as gluttonous as that sounds, I do watch what I eat, but not in a calorie-counting way. I'm not indifferent to the importance of a balanced diet. I could name you off ten 'power foods' in a flash (blueberries, avocado, pomegranate, tomatoes, kale...) I almost never eat fast food, stay far away from overly-processed foods and eat balanced meals prepared from scratch.

Still, I always get The Question. Sometimes it's asked in an accusing way, sometimes wistful, sometimes puzzled, but there it is:

"Why don't you weigh like two hundred pounds?"

People know how many sweets I consume, that I am a former chef and, yep, my world pretty much revolves around food, and they assume I should weight at least 50 lbs more than I do. How do you answer that? I never know. Sometimes I even feel apologetic, especially if the question is tinged with accusation.
"I'm sorry?"
Maybe I will say that sometime.

You know, I realize that weight is a huge (sorry, terrible pun, but I use that word for everything) issue for many people, and I don't mean to make light of it (someone stop me already!). It's just no fun to always have people telling you how unfair it is that you are not fat.

Now, I don't want to offend anyone and so I will stop while I am ahead and tell you what got me going on all of this in the first place.


This month's Saveur is entirely devoted to breakfast! Awesome.
Thumbing through it I was skeptical at first, a write up about the southern U.S. chain Waffle House? An article on McDonald's Egg McMuffin? But I picked up a copy anyway, huge breakfast lover that I am, and was glad I did, for it transported me for a breakfast tour around the world that was most enjoyable, and supplied me with so many breakfast recipes that I wished it was Saturday every day so I could try them out.

Inspired by the issue, I decided to show you what I have for breakfast every morning. Perhaps THIS healthy start to my day has helped to keep my weight down, perhaps not.


Nope, not sugary cold cereal, not buttery Danishes, and no greasy fry-up, but oatmeal porridge is my standard breakfast five days a week. It's not always with roasted peaches and cinnamon sugar, as pictured, but with a variety of seasonal toppings. My dining room table perpetually has a tray with plenty more add-ons for the hot cereal: wheat germ, coconut, honey, craisins, granola and whatever else suits my fancy.
The weekends are for the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes and the Raspberry Chocolate Muffins, but during the week the babies and I wake up together over stone-cut oats.

Seriously though, I grew up eating hot cereal and vowed to keep it up so that my children would also. My husband was raised on cold cereal and our pantry is stocked to meet his needs, however this is about to change. Noah is plenty old enough to realize Daddy's Honey Nut Cheerios are more fun than his oatmeal. On the rare occasion he is up before Danny has to leave for work, one can usually find him sleepily trying to climb up on his dad's lap for of bite of 'cheewios'.

Ah, this is fascinating, stuff isn't it?

OK, so if anyone is still reading, tell me, what do you eat for breakfast?

Chocolate-Raspberry Oat Muffins

I am not generally accustomed to letting Noah eat in front of the TV, in fact, our soon-to-be three-year-old isn't really allowed to watch television; however, the Bejing Olympics have caused us to bend the rules a bit these last several days.

Is anyone as enraptured by the games as I am? These athletes (or 'af-leaps' as my son calls them) are so hard core! They are all normal people like you and I, but their endurance, strength, focus and drive is stunning to watch.

The morning Alexandre Despatie of Montreal won his silver medal in diving was so exciting, I couldn't turn off the TV. For the first time in my history as a mother, I dragged the high chair into our office/TV room and served Noah his oatmeal poolside--er, television-side.
His brain can't rot during six rounds of dives now, can it?

The silver medal performance inspired the afternoon's game for Noah, as a row of surprisingly buoyant pillows laid in a row across the floor made up a diving board onto the sofa.



These muffins are another great way to get your morning oats without the mess of a bib, bowl and spoon for the little ones. Plenty of butter keep them moist and the oatmeal add a delightful texture. As you can see, I am carrying my much-loved combination of raspberries and chocolate a step further than dessert and bringing it into my breakfast menu. These feel almost like dessert for breakfast, what could be better than that?



Feel free to change up the add-ins of these buttermilk oatmeal muffins to suit your taste. Prefer blueberries to raspberries? No chocolate for you? Try adding some dried fruit or nuts instead.

Chocolate-Raspberry Oat Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
½ cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand one hour. Preheat oven to 400F and prepare muffin tins.
Stir the egg and the sugar into the oat mixture, followed by the melted butter. Pile all the ingredients together over the oat mixture, leaving out the berries, and stir the batter until just combined.
Fold in berries carefully without over mixing.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and place in oven. Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, about ten minutes.

More Chocolate and Raspberry recipes:

Chocolate and Raspberry Ice Cream Sandwiches

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberries