Stollen Swirl

Christmas seems to be all to fast approaching this year with a scant 3 weeks to go. I have been trialing different traditional Christmas cakes over the last few weeks with varying degrees of success and then realised, my family don't do Christmas in the traditional sense - especially not when it comes to the food. The Stollen swirl was then born; mashing up my love for a good cinnamon swirl, my other halfs new found love of stollen (which I'm yet to find a vegan version of) and the total excess of Christmas with the finished product sizing well over the average dinner plate and stuffed with treats. You could also skip coiling the dough round to create a giant swirl and cut through the rolled dough to create a more traditional cinnamon bun look but I love seeing people's faces when presented with a slice of this. The dried fruit measurements are a rough guide - use your favourites to personalise the cake to your family. I really hope you make this giant bun and that it brings some festive cheer to your kitchen.

Ingredients:
Dough:
800g strong white flour plus extra for dusting
7g fast action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
500ml soy milk
150g plant based butter

Filling:
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cranberries
2 tbsp mixed peel
1 tbsp crystalised ginger
3 tbsp glace cherries
4 tbsp cinnamon
75g plant based butter
75g caster sugar
1 block marzipan

Icing:
6 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp orange extract

Method:

Pop the butter and milk for the dough into a jug and microwave fora  couple of minutes until warm and the butter melted. Place the other dough ingredients into the bowl of your mixer and combine before adding in the warmed milk and butter. Mix for around 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy, bouncy and has a spring to it. The dough should feel like the lobe of your ear!

While the dough is mixing, chop the cherries and crystallized ginger then add to a bowl with the other dried fruit, ginger, clove and nutmeg. Stir well to ensure all of the fruit is coated. In a separate bowl, mash together the cinnamon, butter and sugar then place to one side.

Roll out the marzipan as thin as you can, around 2mm thick then place to one side. I would recommend rolling out out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to stop it sticking.

Once the dough is ready, flour a large sheet of baking paper and tip out the dough onto it. Roll out the dough, adding more flour as needed, to a large rectangle around 4 mm in thickness. Gently spread on the cinnamon butter - I find using my fingers gets the best results over a knife or pastry brush. Sprinkle on the dried fruit then tear of little pieces of the marzipan and lay over the top. Leave some gaps between the marzipan so its not in every bite so as not to overwhelm the cake.

Beginning at one long side, carefully fold the dough over to create the start of the roll, pulling gently to keep the dough taught and to help it release from the baking paper. Keep rolling until you reach the other side then smooth the edge of the dough onto the roll with your fingers. Create a spiral from the dough on a well floured baking sheet and leave to rest for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 160c fan then bake the swirl for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside. Allow to cool for 15 minutes once baked.

Mix together the icing sugar with the orange extract then slowly add water until the mix resembles single cream, Drizzle over the still warm swirl to help the icing melt in.

Serve warm with ice cream for desert or a drizzle of plant based cream for a christmas appropriate snack!

Please make this and take a picture, tagging me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Chocolate Fondants

With Christmas looming ever nearer, I wanted to make handmade gifts this year and have been experimenting with different edible treats. These are my take on a recipe given to me by one of the team I work with - I realise making chocolates using potato is a little odd but these genuinely taste amazing and no-one has been able to guess the 'secret' ingredient. Because each potato is different, I have left the amounts for a lot of the ingredients blank so you can achieve the flavour you like best, just add slowly and keep tasting. I gave a bag of these to one of my friends as part of her birthday and she loved them which is always good!

Ingredients:

1 large potato
Icing sugar
5 bars dark chocolate
orange extract
vanilla extract
cinnamon
coffee extract

Method:

Peel and chop the potato into small pieces then boil until soft. Place in a blender and puree until smooth and silky. Slowly add in the icing sugar until the mixture becomes reasonably stiff like whipped cream. Separate out into 3 bowls and add orange extract to one, vanilla to another and coffee and cinnamon to the last.

Beat the flavourings into the mixture adding more as required. Add a little more icing sugar until the mix becomes a paste. Place in the fridge for half an hour or so until it can be moulded.

Melt the chocolate and form small bite-sized balls of the mixture then dip each one into the melted chocolate, making sure they are well coated. I then placed them into petit four cases but you could set them on a sheet of baking paper. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up then place in the fridge to set.

I left these plain but you could drizzle them with more melted chocolate or roll them in coconut or citrus zest.

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you!

Butternut Squash and Garlic Mushroom Wellington

The current topic of conversation both in real life and on social media seems to be 'what are you having for Christmas dinner?' and while my family don't go down the traditional route, we had risotto last year, I wanted to create something semi-festive that was easy to make and felt like a proper treat. This wellington is rich and hearty without being heavy making it the ideal dish for days when eating is the main theme... this will either serve 2 or 4 people depending on portion size!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash - try to pick one with a small seed area
1 roll puff pastry
2 red onions
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp butter
400g mushrooms
4 - 6 large cloves garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 200c fan and wash your squash. Chop the squash just above the seed area and take the top of the squash, cut it in half lengthways and coat with olive oil. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until soft to the touch and the skin has turned golden. Peal the skin from the squash while its still hot and scoop out some of the flesh to create a channel down the length to hold the fillings then place to one side to cool.

While the squash is roasting, finely chop all the mushrooms and fry over a high heat in a tbsp of olive oil. Once the mushrooms have started to reduce, mince the garlic and add in with a generous helping of salt and pepper.

Slice the onions as finely as you can and fry over a low heat in the butter and nutmeg until soft and slightly caramelised.

Carefully unroll the puff pastry sheet then use a rolling pin to extend the dough to the edges of the parchment it comes on. Cut the sheet into quarters and then use scissors to cut the parchment along with the dough for easier handling.

Preheat your oven to 200c fan and lightly flour a baking tray. Place the squash halves on a chopping board with the hollows facing up. Carefully fill half the butternut squash with mushrooms and top with the caramelised onions then place one of the pastry sheets over the top. Peal off the baking paper and repeat the process with the other half of the squash. Place the baking tray over the top of the squash and carefully up end then so the pastry layer is now on the bottom. Take the remaining pastry and cover the squash, pulling the bottom piece up to create a sealed package.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and flaky. I have served these with a quick onion gravy and green peas for lunch or as part of a roast with potatoes and green vegetables for dinner.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Christmas Swirls

I wanted to come up with something a little different this Christmas for family and friends and decided to blend cinnamon swirls and mince pies to make the ultimate Christmas treat. These buns smell incredible right from the start and taste even better. Ideal as a home-made gift, they are surprisingly easy to make. I spiced both the dough and the filling for the perfect festive flavour.

Ingredients:
Dough:
800g strong white flour
7g fast action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
500ml milk - I use soy
150g butter - I use dairy-free
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Filling:
4 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground nutmeg
75g butter
75g caster sugar
10 tbsp mince meat

Method:
Place the milk and butter in a pan over a low heat and melt together until the milk is warm to the touch but not boiling. Place all the other ingredients dough ingredients into a large bowl keeping the salt and yeast apart. Pour over the melted butter and milk mixture and stir with a spatula until the dry and wet ingredients come together.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and kneed for around 10 minutes until the dough is soft and pliable, feeling like the lobe of your ear! Place the dough to one side to rest.

Mash together remaining sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl.

Take a large piece of baking parchment and lightly flour. Roll out the dough to around 50cm long, 25cm wide and 1cm thick. Spread the butter and sugar mixture evenly over the dough taking it right to the edges. I use my hands as it warms the butter and helps prevent the dough from tearing. Spread a thin layer of the mincemeat over the top.

Carefully roll the dough from the long edge, taking care to tuck the rolls over for a firm and neat swirl. Once a neat roll has been formed, take a sharp knife and cut the roll into 20 evenly sized pieces. Place these on a couple of lightly floured baking sheets and pop in a warm place to prove for at least 20 minutes.

Once the swirls have proved, placed in a preheated oven at 200c for 15 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.

Place on cooling racks with kitchen roll underneath to catch any melting sugar drips and leave to set.

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!