Desserts
- Chocolate Pudding
- Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Sticky Buns
- Sticky Buns (Overnight)
- Mead-Poached Pears
Chocolate Pudding
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
Original Source: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baked-apple-cider-donuts/
Ingredients (Doughnut Batter):
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Ingredients (Topping):
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350f. Grease doughnut baking molds with oil or butter (should have enough to make 12-14 doughnuts)
Reduce the apple cider: simmer cider in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until it's reduced to 1/2 cup; about 20-30 minutes. Skim spices or particles or run through a fine-mesh strainer. when in doubt, it's better to over-reduce than under, as long as it's not burned; just add more cider to make up the difference.
Combine dry ingredients: while cider is simmering, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
Combine wet ingredients: combine butter, egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, and vanilla in another bowl.
Mix batter: add reduced cider to wet ingredients; then mix in dry ingredients a bit at a time. Batter should be somewhat thick, but not a dough.
Spoon batter into greased doughnut molds. It should make 12 doughnuts, possibly with a little extra. (Leftover batter can be used to create cookie-like "doughnut holes" on a baking sheet.)
Bake at 350f for about 10-12 minutes, until cooked through. While baking, mix together dry ingredients for topping in a small bowl; melt 6 tbsp butter in another bowl.
Remove doughnuts from molds immediately after baking. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, dip them first into butter, then into dry topping mix. Don't over-coat doughnuts; one dip is enough.
Cinnamon Rolls
Sticky Buns
Source: Cook's Illustrated
Time: ~4 Hours
Notes: I prefer this recipe over the overnight variant, but the dough produced by this one doesn't take to chilling as well. This means that these buns should really be baked immediately after making them, and that the other recipe is often better for preparing the next day's breakfast.
Ingredients
Flour Paste
⅔ cup water
¼ cup (1 1/3 ounces) bread flour
Dough
⅔ cup milk
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
2 ¾ cups (15 1/8 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Topping
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) dark brown sugar
¼ cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
¼ cup dark corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
Filling
¾ cup packed (5 1/4 ounces) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
These buns take about 4 hours to make from start to finish. For dough that is easy to work with and produces light, fluffy buns, we strongly recommend that you measure the flour for the dough by weight. The slight tackiness of the dough aids in flattening and stretching it in step 6, so resist the urge to use a lot of dusting flour. Rolling the dough cylinder tightly in step 7 will result in misshapen rolls; keep the cylinder a bit slack. Bake these buns in a metal, not glass or ceramic, baking pan. We like dark corn syrup and pecans here, but light corn syrup may be used, and the nuts may be omitted, if desired.
FOR THE FLOUR PASTE: Whisk water and flour together in small bowl until no lumps remain. Microwave, whisking every 25 seconds, until mixture thickens to stiff, smooth, pudding-like consistency that forms mound when dropped from end of whisk into bowl, 50 to 75 seconds.
FOR THE DOUGH: In bowl of stand mixer, whisk flour paste and milk together until smooth. Add egg and yolk and whisk until incorporated. Add flour and yeast. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and mix on low speed until all flour is moistened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Add sugar and salt and mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes. Stop mixer and add butter. Continue to mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes longer, scraping down dough hook and sides of bowl halfway through (dough will stick to bottom of bowl).
Transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Knead briefly to form ball and transfer seam side down to lightly greased bowl; lightly coat surface of dough with vegetable oil spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise until just doubled in volume, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
FOR THE TOPPING: While dough rises, grease 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan. Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt together in medium bowl until smooth. Add water and whisk until incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared pan and tilt pan to cover bottom. Sprinkle evenly with pecans, if using.
FOR THE FILLING: Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined; set aside.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter. Press dough gently but firmly to expel air. Working from center toward edge, pat and stretch dough to form 18 by 15-inch rectangle with long edge nearest you. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving 1-inch border along top edge; smooth filling into even layer with your hand, then gently press mixture into dough to adhere.
Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough into cylinder, taking care not to roll too tightly. Pinch seam to seal and roll cylinder seam side down. Mark gently with knife to create 12 equal portions. To slice, hold strand of dental floss taut and slide underneath cylinder, stopping at first mark. Cross ends of floss over each other and pull. Slice cylinder into 12 portions and transfer, cut sides down, to prepared baking pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until buns are puffy and touching one another, 40 minutes to 1 hour. (Buns may be refrigerated immediately after shaping for up to 14 hours. To bake, remove baking pan from refrigerator and let sit until buns are puffy and touching one another, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.) Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to lowest and lower-middle positions. Place rimmed baking sheet on lower rack to catch any drips and heat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake buns on upper rack until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Tent with aluminum foil and bake until center of dough registers at least 200 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Let buns cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Place rimmed baking sheet over buns and carefully invert. Remove pan and let buns cool for 5 minutes. Using spoon, scoop any glaze on baking sheet onto buns. Let cool for at least 10 minutes longer before serving.
Sticky Buns (Overnight)
Source: Cook's Illustrated
Yield: 12 sticky buns
In developing our sticky buns recipe, we tested a series of ingredients and settled on a buttermilk base that left the buns' flavor and texture rich but not heavy and the crumb tender and light. Six tablespoons of melted butter and three eggs later, the dough was sweet and moist with substantial chew. For a spiced sweet and assertive filling, we used brown rather than granulated sugar because of its superior texture and deep color. Crowned with a toasted pecan topping—butter, light brown sugar, corn syrup, and toasted, chopped pecans—the sticky buns achieved greatness.
Ingredients
Dough
3 large eggs at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature
1¼ teaspoons table salt
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
4¼ (21¼ oz) cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
Caramel Glaze
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup (5¼ oz) packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup, light or dark
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 pinch table salt
Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
¾ cup (5¼ oz) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 pinch table salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Pecan Topping
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup (1¾ oz) packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup, light or dark
pinch table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup pecans (3 oz), toasted in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant and browned, about 5 minutes, then cooled and coarsely chopped
Instructions
If you like, sticky buns can be made and shaped the night before and then refrigerated. The next morning, set the baking dish in a warm-water bath to speed the dough’s rise. This recipe has four components: the dough that is shaped into buns, the filling that creates the swirl in the shaped buns, the caramel glaze that bakes in the bottom of the baking dish along with the buns, and the pecan topping that garnishes the buns once baked. Although the ingredient list may look long, note that many ingredients are repeated. Leftover sticky buns can be wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days, but they should be warmed through before serving. They reheat quickly in a microwave oven (for 2 buns, about 2 minutes at 50 percent power works well); they can also be put into a 325-degree oven for about 8 minutes.
Previous Night (~3.5 Hours)
For the dough: In bowl of standing mixer, whisk eggs to combine; add buttermilk and whisk to combine. Whisk in sugar, salt, and yeast. Add about 2 cups flour and butter; stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until evenly moistened and combined. Add all but about 1/4 cup remaining flour and knead with dough hook at low speed 5 minutes. Check consistency of dough (dough should feel soft and moist but should not be wet and sticky; add more flour, if necessary); knead at low speed 5 minutes longer (dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom). Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 1 minute to ensure that dough is uniform (dough should not stick to work surface during hand kneading; if it does stick, knead in additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time).
Lightly spray large bowl or plastic container with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to bowl, spray dough lightly with cooking spray, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in warm, draftfree spot until doubled in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
For the glaze: Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for glaze in small saucepan; cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into nonstick metal 13- by 9-inch baking dish; using rubber spatula, spread mixture to cover surface of baking dish. Set baking dish aside.
To assemble buns: For filling, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined, using fingers to break up sugar lumps; set aside. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Gently shape dough into rough rectangle with long side nearest you. Lightly flour dough and roll to 16- by 12-inch rectangle. Brush dough with 1 tablespoon melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along top edge; with butter remaining on brush, brush sides of baking dish. Sprinkle filling mixture over dough, leaving 3/4-inch border along top edge; smooth filling in even layer with hand, then gently press mixture into dough to adhere. Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough into taut cylinder. Firmly pinch seam to seal and roll cylinder seam-side down. Very gently stretch to cylinder of even diameter and 18-inch length; push ends in to create even thickness. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, slice cylinder in half, then slice each half in half again to create evenly sized quarters. Slice each quarter evenly into thirds, yielding 12 buns (end pieces may be slightly smaller).
Arrange buns cut-side down in prepared baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 10 to 14 hours.
Morning (~2.5 Hours)
To prepare buns: Place baking pan in warm-water bath (about 120 degrees) in kitchen sink or large roasting pan for 20 minutes. Remove from water bath and let stand at room temperature until buns look slightly puffy and are pressed against one another, about 1 1/2 hours. About an hour before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place pizza stone on rack (if using), and heat oven to 350 degrees.
To bake buns: Place baking pan on pizza stone; bake until golden brown and center of dough registers about 180 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert onto rimmed baking sheet, large rectangular platter, or cutting board. With rubber spatula, scrape any glaze remaining in baking pan onto buns; let cool while making pecan topping.
For the topping: Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally to thoroughly combine. Off heat, stir in vanilla and pecans until pecans are evenly coated. Using soup spoon, spoon heaping tablespoon nuts and topping over center of each sticky bun. Continue to cool until sticky buns are warm, 15 to 20 minutes. Pull apart or use serrated knife to cut apart sticky buns; serve.