Weekend reading, inspiration & answering your questions
Every weekend, I share 5 things I'm reading, 5 things that I'm enjoying (recipes, podcasts, tv, new products), answer 5 of your questions, and share seasonal recipes. It's an outlet for feel-good inspiration and things that I'm learning in my cooking and non-cooking life.
This weekend: the resilience of Painted Lady butterflies, why moss rules, a scientific examination of luck, practicing digital minimalism, the best vegan Easter chocolates, a gardening YouTube channel that I've been doing a deep dive on, how to get back into a healthy routine, and some seasonal recipe inspiration. | | | | A weekend baking project bonus for you: Vegan Chocolate Cherry Hot Cross Buns | I'm also sharing a special vegan baking project that's perfect for this weekend! I had been working on these vegan chocolate cherry hot cross buns for a bit and got them exactly how I wanted them.
The recipe turned out to be quite involved though and ultimately didn't feel like the right fit for my blog. Most of the bakes on my site are on the simple side! So I'm sharing them here as a special treat for email subscribers (thank you!).
They're tender, loaded with warm spice, tangy dried cherries, and a hint of decadent dark chocolate. Hope you love them! | Vegan Chocolate Cherry Hot Cross Buns
| Makes 12 buns Note: Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Big chunks are a lot harder to incorporate into the dough. You could also use mini chocolate chips if that's easier!
Buns: ¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice 2 teaspoons orange zest ¾ cup (107 grams) dried cherries, finely chopped 6 tablespoons (90 ml) maple syrup, divided 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened soy milk 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 5 ½ tablespoons (82 ml) sunflower oil 3 cups (360 grams) all purpose flour 1 cup (113 grams) whole wheat flour 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract ½ teaspoon almond extract (or use more vanilla) ¼ cup (43 grams) chopped dark chocolate
Crosses & Jam Glaze:
Make Dough Place the orange juice in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave for 20 seconds or until juice is very warm. Add the orange zest and chopped dried cherries. Submerge the cherries in the liquid and let them sit for 30 minutes. Heat the soy milk and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (either in the microwave or on the stove) to 110°F and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over top and give it a light stir. Set aside until foamy and active, about 5 minutes. If the yeast doesn't foam, throw everything out and start again. Once yeast is foamy, add the remaining maple syrup, sunflower oil, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Using a spatula, bring the dough together until it's shaggy and mostly combined. Then, bring the bowl to the stand mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix on medium until the dough is unified, soft, and elastic, about 4 minutes. You could also knead by hand for 8-10 minutes. Place the dough on the counter and flatten it out a bit, creating as much surface area as you can without ripping/tearing the dough. Evenly scatter the soaked cherries and dark chocolate over the surface. Roll the dough up into a log and then knead/shape into a ball. This part is very sticky and messy! Just do your best.
First Rise Grease a large bowl with sunflower oil and place the dough ball in, rotating it all around to coat in the oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.
Shape & Second Rise Grease a 9x13 baking dish with oil. Dust your work surface with flour and punch down the dough. Transfer the dough to the floured surface and roll into a 16-inch log of even thickness. Cut the log into 12 equal portions and then roll those portions into balls. Place the dough balls in the greased baking dish. Cover the baking dish and let the buns rise in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Pipe Crosses, Bake & Glaze Preheat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Make the crosses mixture. In a small bowl, combine the ½ cup flour and 2/3 cup water. Whisk until you have a smooth paste with no lumps. You want it to be thick but still fluid enough to pipe. Transfer the crosses mixture to a squeeze bottle or zipper seal bag. If using the zipper seal bag, squeeze the mixture to one corner and snip off that corner with scissors. Then, pipe crosses across all buns. Bake the hot cross buns until deep golden brown and puffed up, about 20 minutes or so. An internal thermometer poked into the center of one of the buns should register at 190°F. Place the apricot jam and water in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high in the microwave for 20 seconds. Brush this mixture on the hot cross buns straight out of the oven. Let the hot cross buns cool completely on a wire rack before enjoying.
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