Making memories

Bronte at Home, by Bronte Aurell, published by Ryland Peters & Small, RRP $39.99.
Bronte at Home, by Bronte Aurell, published by Ryland Peters & Small, RRP $39.99.
Fairytale Baking, by Christin Gewek, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $45.
Fairytale Baking, by Christin Gewek, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $45.
As Christmas edges closer, finding the right recipes to impress friends and family at gatherings or with home-made presents can be difficult.

Bronte Aurell
Bronte Aurell
To help, Fresh has collated recipes from two recently released cookbooks which are based on the feelings cooks want to evoke with their Christmas baking — childhood memories, hugs and those glorious smells of baked goods coming out of the oven.

Fairytale Baking editor Christin Gewek hopes her recipes conjure memories of warmth and belonging and create new ones — just like fairy tales.

‘‘Like old family recipes, fairy tales are also handed down from one generation to the next.’’

From her book we have selected a marbled cheesecake which will look wonderfully festive on a celebration table and cinnamon cookies, the perfect gift or after dinner nibble.

In Bronte at Home, Bronte Aurell looks to Scandanavia and its concept of ‘‘hygge’’— enjoying the moment while you are in it — to create recipes that can be shared and bring comfort, like the sticky gingerbread buns we share here or the crispbread which will fancy up a cheese board.

Christin Gewek
Christin Gewek
‘‘Because baking at home is all about that: it’s about creating and eating to please people around you. There is something really wonderful in that, which no money can buy, no matter how rustic the result may be.’’


Photos: Supplied
Photos: Supplied
Marbled cheesecake

Makes 1 24cm cheesecake

Ingredients

For the base
75g butter
175g digestive biscuits
1½ tsp brown sugar
1 generous pinch of salt

For the filling
500g cream cheese
200g low-fat quark or Greek-style yoghurt
185g caster sugar
1½ Tbsp vanilla sugar
¼ cup (30g) cornflour
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
⅔ cup (175ml) single (pure) cream
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Also
butter, for greasing
about 2 cups (250g) mixed fresh or frozen berries, thawed
1 tsp cornflour
About 1 tbsp honey

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180degC. Carefully line a 24cm springform tin with baking paper and butter the side.

2. For the base, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Put the biscuits in a resealable plastic bag and finely crush with a rolling pin. Thoroughly combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter, brown sugar and salt. Press the biscuit mixture into the tin evenly and firmly and bake for 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven to 160degC

3. Blend the berries and strain through a fine sieve. Remove about 2 tablespoons for marbling and refrigerate the rest for the sauce.

4. For the filling, mix the cream cheese and quark together until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, vanilla sugar and cornflour. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, then quickly whisk in the cream, eggs and egg yolk, mixing until everything is well combined. Do not overmix to prevent bubbles from forming when baking. Spread the filling evenly over the base. Dot the top with the 2 tablespoons blended berries. Pull a fork through the berries to create a marbled effect.

5. Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes. Do not open the oven door during cooking, or the surface will crack. When the cheesecake is cooked, switch off the oven and leave the cake to cool. Leave the oven door closed for the first 30 minutes, then open the door slightly and leave to cool for another 1½ hours. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

6. Before serving, carefully slide a sharp knife around the cake edge. Remove the cheesecake from the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Bring the remaining strained berries to the boil in a small saucepan. Dissolve the cornflour in a little cold water. Whisk into the fruit and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring, to thicken. Sweeten with honey. Serve the berry coulis with the cheesecake.


Cinnamon cookies

Makes 20

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1 pinch salt
140g icing sugar
120g plain flour
½ cup (50g) blanched, ground almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Also
flour, for dusting
hundreds and thousands, for sprinkling

Method
1. Beat the egg whites and salt until semi-stiff. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar and continue to whisk until you have a firm mixture with glossy peaks. Transfer about 4 Tbsp of the beaten egg whites to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Combine the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa powder and lemon zest and fold into the egg whites. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 160degC and line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the dough about 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface and use a cookie cutter to cut out 5cm circles. Knead the leftover dough together and repeat. Transfer the cookies to the baking tray. Use a teaspoon to spread thinly with the reserved egg whites and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands.

4. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.


Gingerbread buns

When Christmas comes around, I like to flavour my cinnamon buns with a more festive filling — so I add pepparkakskryddor gingerbread spices to my bun filling. I think these are super-festive.

Makes 14-15 small buns

Ingredients
plain/all-purpose flour, for dusting
1 quantity basic bun dough (see below)
beaten egg, for brushing
100ml golden syrup/light corn syrup
pearl/nibbed sugar, to decorate (optional)
icing sugar, to dust

Filling
120g soft butter
50g/¼ cup caster/granulated sugar
50g/¼ cup light brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp ginger bread spice mix; depending on how spiced you like it, ready mixed or make your own (see below)

Gingerbread spice mix
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground allspice
a baking sheet, greased and lined with baking parchment

Basic bun dough - Makes about 16
13g dried/dry active yeast or 25g fresh yeast *(see below)
250ml whole milk, heated to 36-37degC
80g melted and left to cool slightly
40g caster/granulated sugar
400-500g strong white/bread flour
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten

To decorate
flaked/slivered almonds

Method
Dust the work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Knead the dough with your hands and work in more flour if needed. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 40mc x 50cm rectangle.

For the filling
Cream all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Spread the filling across the dough in an even, thin layer.

To make traditional swirls
Simply roll up the dough lengthways into a long roll and cut into 15 slices, place on the prepared baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.

To make the knots
Fold the prepared dough in half and cut into strips. 

Take a strip and hold down one edge with your finger and use your hand to roll the strip in on itself, as tight as it will go, then arrange into a neat circle, taking care that both ends are tucked away underneath otherwise they will unfold when baking.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200degC.

Brush the buns lightly with the beaten egg, then bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until golden and done. Watch them carefully, they can burn easily.

Melt the syrup in a saucepan. When the buns come out of the oven, immediately brush lightly with the syrup, then add pearl/nibbed sugar (if using) on top of the buns and cover with a damp kitchen towel.

Just before serving, sprinkle with icing/confectioner’s sugar.

Basic bun dough
Pour the warm milk into a bowl, sprinkle in the yeast and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to become bubbly.

Pour into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook. Start the machine and add the cooled, melted butter. Allow to combine with the yeast for 1 minute or so, then add the sugar.

Allow to combine for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, weigh out 400g of the flour, add the cardamom and salt and mix together. Start adding the flour and spices into the milk mixture, bit by bit.

Add half the beaten egg. Keep kneading for 5 minutes. You may need to add more flour — you want the mixture to end up a bit sticky, but not so much that it sticks to your finger if you poke it.

It is better not to add too much flour as this will result in dry buns. You can add more later. Once mixed, leave the dough in a bowl and cover with a dish towel or clingfilm/plastic wrap. Leave to rise for around 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

*If using fresh yeast, add the warm milk to a small bowl and crumble in the yeast; stir until dissolved, then pour into the bowl of the mixer.


Homemade crispbread

Making crispbread at home is a challenge, because you really need a high heat to get the right level of crispiness, which means people often opt for the commercial types. Make sure you make it so that it is completely baked or else it will not crisp up. Store in an airtight container once it has cooled down and gone crispy.

Makes 8-16

Ingredients
25g fresh yeast or 13g dried/active dry yeast
250ml lukewarm milk heated to 36-37degC
2 Tbsp honey or bread syrup
150g/1¼ cups wholemeal rye flour
300g-400g/2¼-3 cups light rye flour
2 tsp salt

To flavour
50g-75g seeds, sea salt or ground spices of your choice

Equipment
pizza stone or 2 baking sheets, lightly greased

Method
If using fresh yeast, add the yeast and lukewarm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved.

If using dried/active dry yeast, whisk with the warm milk and leave for 15 minutes in a warm place to activate and become frothy before pouring into the stand mixer.

Add the honey and begin stirring with the dough hook. Mix together the flours and salt. Add about two-thirds of the flour slowly and mix for at least 5 minutes on a medium speed. If needed, add more flour to bring the dough together. Cover the bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave to rest in a warm place for around an hour. It will not rise much, but should puff up slightly.

Heat the oven to a very hot 240degC. Add a pizza stone if you have one, or the baking sheets if not.

Knead the dough through on a floured surface and cut into 8 large or 16 small pieces. Roll each one on to a piece of baking parchment until very thin.

Push your chosen seeds or toppings into the dough. Brush with water and prick with a fork all over. I usually cut a hole in the middle of mine, too, but it’s just for show. Bake in the oven for 48 minutes or until golden.

Turn halfway through cooking if not using a pizza stone. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once your oven has cooled to just warm, pop the crispbreads back in the oven for a few hours to finish drying and become properly crisp.

Store in an airtight container.

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