Swedish Tea Ring - Eggless Baking Challenge

Do you ever feel that time is slipping like sand through your fingers ?? I get that feeling now and again, when I look at my kids, expecting to see my little babies, but actually seeing little persons, growing and maturing too quickly, right in front of my eyes ! Ever since I started working, I have had less time to spend with them during weekdays, but the job was my choice and so there is nothing for me to complain about :) I have to shift and slide my tasks and schedules around, so that I get to maximize the time and fun that I can have with my little darlings.
For July, the Baking Eggless challenge was to make a Swedish Tea Ring. It is very similar to cinnamon rolls, a rich yeast bread with a filling of cinnamon sugar, nuts and raisins, except it is baked in a circular form, usually in an intriguing design. This delicious bread originated in the Scandinavian region, which can now be separated into the countries of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Most recipes seem to have been handed down by sweet grandmothers and continue to be relished in all parts of the world !

There are several recipes and creative designs floating merrily on the internet. Take your pick, but definitely give it a try !
The recipe we adapted is here.

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1/2 C milk
1/4 C ricotta cheese(substituting for 1 egg)
1/2 Tbs butter at room temperature
11/2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
11/2 C + 2 Tbs bread flour
3/4 tsp active dry yeast

For the Filling: 
1 Tbsp softened butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp almond slivers (optional)

Method:
1. Put the milk, ricotta cheese, butter, sugar, salt and bread flour in a bowl.
2. Proof the yeast with a tablespoon of warm water and add to the bowl as well.
3. Mix all the ingredients well, until a smooth and slightly sticky dough is formed.
4. Knead well for about 5 - 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. If you find that the dough is too sticky, then add a tablespoon of dough at a time, until desired texture is obtained.



6. Oil a bowl and place the kneaded dough in it. You can use the same bowl in which you mixed the dough.
7. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and place in a warm area to let the dough rise.
8. After about 1.5 - 2 hours, the dough should have risen to double its original volume.
9. In the meantime, prepare the filling by combining the cinnamon, cardamom and sugar.
10. Punch the dough slightly to deflate the air. Roll it out into a 12 X 16 rectangle (approximately)
11. Brush the softened butter over the rolled dough. Leave about half an inch all around so that you can seal the ring properly.
12. Sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the sugar and press slightly into the dough. You could use raisins instead of the nuts or you could use both !
13. Starting at the longer edge, roll the dough tightly into a log. Place the log, seam side down, stretching it with a gentle hand and then joining the two edges together to form a circle.
14. Place the circle on a greased baking tray. I lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
15. Using sharp kitchen scissors, cut 2/3 of the way through the loaf , at 1 inch intervals. Spread the cut pieces lightly.
16. At this point, I covered the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerated it. It was late in the evening and I didnt want to bake it at that time.
17. I couldnt bake it until the evening of the next day. The sugar and butter had combined to make a syrup of sorts which had oozed out of the dough. I was hoping that my bread wouldnt turn out to be a soggy mess !
18. If your dough is refrigerated, warm it up on the counter top for about 40 minutes. Do the same even if you intend to bake the bread on the same day. The second rise will yield a nice texture to the bread.
19. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Brush the tea ring with milk.
20. Bake the tea ring for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden and the filling seems bubbly.
21. Drizzle lightly with icing when the tea ring is still warm and serve immediately to all the family members who would have trickled into the kitchen following the delicious aromas emanating from there !

Notes :
1. The tea ring was delicious. The covering was flaky and rich and buttery and the filling was sweet and spicy and crunchy.
2. Kids and hubby both loved it and polished it off in a day !
3. The dough came together very easily and I had no difficulty with it at all.

Eggless Pina Colada cake - Baking Eggless Challenge

This week's Baking Eggless challenge had us making a rich, fruity cake - a Pina Colada cake. I had heard, of course of the pina colada drink, but I had never heard of the corresponding cake. Pina Colada, apparently means pressed pineapple, because of the fresh pineapple used in the famous cocktail. This beautiful cake was suggested by Meena of Chettinad Fiesta.
When Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot posted the translated version of this recipe, (the originals are all in Polish, I believe) I was a little skeptical. There were quite a few steps and quite a few ingredients required. Although I have baked cakes many times, I haven't baked too many layer cakes. My decorating skills leave much to be desired as well !
But I love the flavors of pineapple and coconut (how could a self respecting south Indian not love coconut ?? ) and I already had a good recipe for a simple yet delicious sponge cake, eggless to boot!
So, I gathered all the ingredients and took the plunge and made the cake almost as specified in the original recipe. Here it goes :



Eggless Pina Colada Cake :

The Sponge Cake : The original recipe made a sponge cake using 7 eggs !!!! There wasnt any way I could replicate that recipe by replacing the eggs. I had however, made this eggless sponge cake quite a few times and felt this would be a good base for the pina colada cake.

Ingredients:
1 C unbleached all purpose flour
½ C whole wheat pastry flour
1 C sugar
1 C yogurt
½ tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ C oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl, beat the yogurt to remove any lumps, add the sugar and mix well.
3. Add the baking powder and the baking soda and mix again. Set this mixture aside for 5 minutes until tiny bubbles are formed.
4.Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
5. Add the combined flours slowly to the yogurt mixture and mix gently until no dry flour can be seen.
6.Grease a baking pan ( I used a round 8 inch pan). Pour the batter and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 - 35 minutes.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Pineapple mousse : This mousse is more of a jam type filling made with fresh pineapple and cornstarch. There is no dairy product used in it. I halved the original recipe.





Ingredients :
1 fresh pineapple
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar (if required)
¼ C pineapple juice or apple juice
¼ tsp ground cardamom (optional)

Method:
1. Peel and core the pineapple. Remove as many brown bits from the pineapple as possible.
2.Chop the pineapple into small pieces.
3. Place the chopped pineapple in a thick bottomed pan, along with the juice and the sugar, if using.
4. On medium flame, let the pineapple cook until tender.
5. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little juice or water and add to the pineapple mixture.
6. Cook until thickened.
7. Take of from flame and cool.
8. Mix in the ground cardamom.

Coconut Cream
Ingredients:
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
1 C sugar
¼ C sour cream
½ C ricotta cheese
1 tsp coconut extract

Method:
1. Pour the coconut milk in a pot, add the sugar and boil until the mixture thickens to the texture of a syrup. Cool until just warm.
2. Reserve ¼ C of the syrup.
3. Add the extract, sour cream and ricotta cheese to the rest of the coconut syrup until well mixed.
4. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble the Cake :
1. Cut the cooled cake into two halves, slicing it horizontally, as evenly as possible.
2. Place the lower half on a serving plate. poke small holes gently and pour the reserved coconut syrup all over.
3. Spread a generous layer of pineapple jam over the cake.
4. Then spread about half a cup of the coconut cream mixture gently over the jam.
5. Place the top half of the cake over the bottom layer
6. Use the remaining coconut cream to frost the top and the sides of the cake evenly.
7. Chill the cake in the refrigerator overnight so that the flavors can meld.
8. Decorate the cake with shredded sweetened coconut.
9. Cut into beautiful slices and amaze your family!!

Result :
The resulting cake was definitely unique in its combination of flavors, nothing like I ever had prepared before. If I had to make this again, I would try to get more of the pineapple flavor, maybe by adding crushed pineapple to the cake.
I would also make the cake layers moister by adding glazing it with either simple syrup or pineapple juice.
My children and hubby, however, loved the cake !
If you want to make the cake for a larger crowd, you could double the cake recipe and the coconut cream recipe.

Simple Applesauce Cake

I am always on the lookout for nutritious and simple sides that I can send in my son's lunch box. In all my online searches, applesauce came up a lot. Lots of kids seem to enjoy having applesauce in their lunch boxes. Moms all over the country send applesauce regularly, store bought or homemade, in disposable cups and reusable pouches!
So, a few weeks back, I purchased a pack of natural, unsweetened applesauce from our local grocery store. I had my kids try it out at home before sending it to school and wonder of wonders, they didn't like it! So I had 4 boxes of applesauce and nobody to eat it..
I looked up recipes using applesauce and finally chanced upon this one from Martha Stewart.I halved the original recipe and baked it in a square pan instead of in a bundt pan.
I tried it out and it turned out pretty well. Read on for the recipe !





Ingredients:
1 C unbleached all purpose flour
½ C whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ C butter (1 stick), softened
1 C packed brown sugar
2 Tbs honey
1 flax egg ( 1 Tbs ground flax meal + 3 Tbs water)
1 C applesauce (2 small boxes, if store bought)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 °(350). Whisk together the flours, salt, spices and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Add the flax egg and beat again until thoroughly incorporated. Beat in the applesauce.
3. Add the flour in increments and gently fold in until just combined.
4. Grease an 8 X 8 square pan. Pour the batter in and smooth the top.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes until toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Check at around 40 minutes to see if the cake is done.
6. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
7. Dust with confectioner's sugar if you want and serve it to your family for a satisfactory snack!

Verdict:
This cake had a nice crust and a pretty crumb and tasted well right out of the oven.
My kids and my husband all loved it and I think I will be making it again. The applesauce cake travels well and is a nice addition to the lunch box or the snack box.
I think I might buy more applesauce just to make this cake!

Akki Payasa / Indian Rice Pudding

According to the panchanga or the Hindu Calendar, yesterday was the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya. It falls on the third lunar day of the month of Vaishakha. Akshaya, in Sanskrit, means infinite, somethings that never ends. In a culture, where every event is performed after taking the auspicious moment into consideration, this day is at the top of the list.
According to legend, this is the birthday of Lord Parashurama and this is also the day when Lord Ganesha and Sage Vyasa started writing India's most famous epic, The Mahabharata. Another legend states that this was the day when the river Ganges descended to the earth from the heavens ! This day is considered to be a day to start new ventures. I also remember that many Indians bought gold on this day, even if in trivial amounts, because it was considered that gold purchased on this day would only grow and never recede :-)
Akshaya Tritiya is also considered an auspicious day by the followers of Jainism.
So much for legends and gold {sigh}
Although I don't remember my mother making any such purchases, however insignificant ( we were a strictly middle class family), I do remember her making some or the other kind of dessert to commemorate the occasion. I decided to keep that part of tradition going and made Rice pudding, Indian style.
It is a pretty straightforward recipe, not needing too many ingredients.



Ingredients:
1 C rice  ( any kind will do - basmati or long grained)
3 C whole milk
1 C light coconut milk
1/4 C - 1/2 C sugar (according to taste)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 C mixed nuts (almonds , cashew nuts, pistachios)
2 Tbsp raisins
1 tsp ghee / canola oil
4 - 5 strands of saffron

Method:
1. Wash the rice and put it in a pot (preferably non stick) with the whole milk.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the rice is cooked. If the mixture starts getting thicker, add more milk until its cooked perfectly.
Note: On hindsight and after conferring with my expert (my mom), I realized that I should have cooked the rice in water first instead of trying to cook it entirely in milk. This would have yielded a creamier pudding.
4. Once the rice is cooked, add the coconut milk, the sugar and the spices. Gently simmer until the pudding becomes creamy.
5. Roast the chopped nuts and the raisins in the ghee / canola oil and pour into the pudding.
6. Soak the saffron strands in a little warm milk and then mix into the pudding.

Notes: The pudding was pretty good and was enjoyed by my family. The next time, however, I am going to pulse the rice in a blender to get broken rice and then I will cook it in water before I add the milk and the sugar.  Do try out this pudding!