Black Forest Buns

I take this opportunity to thank Mrs.Apparna for introducing a wonderful Bun. Yes, this month challenge in we knead to bake group is Black Forest Buns. I was pretty much drawn in with the name itself. 

It’s basically, bun dough is rolled (stuffed) with berry jam and crumbled chocolate cake. Quite an innovative Bun recipe for a special (occasions) breakfast.

 

Ingredients for the Bun Dough:  1 ½ cup of all purpose flour    ;   1/4 cup of water   ;  1/4 cup of milk      ;      25 gms of butter        ;        1/8 cup of  Sugar        ;       ¾ tsp of yeast      ;    3/8 tsp salt.   

    

For Filling  :   3/8 Cups of Strawberry Jam        ;            1 ¼ cup of crumbled chocolate sponge cake.    (Chocolate sponge cake recipe from here)

For drizzling: ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate 

Pour the water and milk in a saucepan and heat up the pan. Once, the mixture is hot (not boiling) remove the pan from heat.

Pour this liquid into a large working bowl and add butter and stir until the butter melted. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Allow the mixture to cool down till it is lukewarm. At this stage, add the yeast and mix well. 

Add 1 cup of the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and mix well. Starts knead the dough; add the flour little by little as and when required. Knead until it is smooth and elastic.

Form a ball shaped dough and coat with oil and cover with damp cloth and leave it at room temperature for about 60 – 90 minutes or it rise to double in volume. 

Deflate the dough and place the dough on a flat surface and roll it out into an approximately 11” by 4” rectangle. 

Spread the strawberry jam on the rectangle shaped dough, leaving about ½’’ all around. Sprinkle the chocolate cake crumbs on top of the jam spread.

Now, bring both the ends of the (long side) dough together and pinch the dough to close. Now its looks like the roll. (Cylindrically shaped dough filled with jam and cake crumbs) you may apply little water to close the both ends of the dough.

Cut the roll into six equal pieces with a sharp knife or dough scraper. Place each piece in a prepared cake tin leaving enough space for them to expand.

Make sure, to place a parchment paper to fit well around each piece to make sure it rises only in height. Cover the cake tin with damp cloth and leave it in room temperature for about 60 minutes or till double in size.

Transfer the tin into 180°C pre-heated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool.  Drizzle with melted chocolate and serve.

It’s altogether a different feel while eating. I recommend Black Forest Buns for a special breakfast.

Swimming Pool Theme Cake

Two weeks ago, there was a swimming meet at American British Academy. Where, my son clocked 56 sec in 100 m free style for the first time !. 56 in 100 was his (also mine) long time dream and I would say it’s a significant break thru.

To celebrate this and to surprise him, I thought of baking a theme cake. Usually, theme cakes are of a lengthy procedure also needs lot of patience and artistic mind. Though, I don’t have both, still made an attempt. 

I know, it’s not 100% perfect. But, good enough to impress my Son. (As usual not my husband!)

I split the procedure into five parts and here we go…… 

Basic Sponge Cake :

Ingredients :  1 cup of all purpose flour (take out 2tbsp of flour and add 2 tbsp corn flour)   ;  3 no’s of  Egg   ;     2/3 cup of Sugar    ;   10 gms of melted Butter    ;   10 gms of Oil     ;   20 ml of milk  (if needed you can add by 1tbsp)

In a double boiler, add eggs and sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolved (do not over heat). Remove the bowl from the double boiler.

Using the electric mixer, beat at high speed unit the stiff peaks formed may take about 5 – 7 minutes. 

Set the mixer speed to medium and beat further 5 minutes until the batter becomes foamy. Reduce speed to low, and whisk further 2-3 minutes more until shiny and smooth.

Now add the flour little by little and quick fold with and spatula so that it fully blended well. But, continue the folding even after the flour is no longer visible.

Now add all the rest of the ingredients (butter, oil and milk) in the double boiler so that the butter melts and all combine well. Add the mixture into the flour mixture and mix well with spatula.

Transfer the mixture into pre greased and floured rectangle pan for swimming pool cake. Bake for 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C. Reduce the temperature to 160℃ and bake for another 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the cake to the wired rack and allow it to cool.

Butter Icing

Ingredients :  200gms of butter    ;      2 ½  cups of icing sugar       ;       1 tsp vanilla powder        ;     3 tbsp of heavy cream

Procedure : Beat the butter and add ½ cup of icing sugar and continue beating till it become pale. Again add ½ cup sugar and beat further till it blend well. Finally add all the remaining part of icing sugar, vanilla powder and cream and blend until fully cooperate.

Modeling chocolate ( for pool tiles)

Ingredients :  1/2 cup of white chocolate ;    1 ½ tbsp of corn syrup     ;   blue (food) color

Procedure : melt the chocolate in the microwave and add the corn syrup and mix well quickly otherwise chocolate may stiffen.

Transfer the chocolate to a sturdy plastic bag and keep it at room temperature for about 24 hrs. add add blue (food) color and knead it until it is soft enough to work with. (If, sticky add corn flour. If, dry add corn syrup)

Roll it and cut it small square (for pool tiles) 

Piping gel (for pool water)

Ingredients :   1cup of corn syrup    ;      1 tbsp of gelatin      ;            1tbsp of water ;        blue (food) color

Dissolve gelatin in the water for 2 minutes and microwave for 30 seconds and mix with hot corn syrup and Stir well, to combine. Add blue (food) color and allow it to cool.

Cake Assembly  : 1 cup of strawberry jam; some skittles used as a lane dividers.

Cut the cake into two halves and spread the jam on the one half and top of it spread the butter cream and place the other half and firmly press.

Cut the 0.5 cm depth (top layer) of the cake in order to fill the prepared piping gel as water.  

Cover the cake with butter icing cream and fix the modeling chocolate on the sides as pool tiles. Pour the piping gel to give water effect and then place the skittles as a divider / rope.