Baking | The Mindfulness Kitchen

Chocolate and Vanilla Rabbit Cookies

By Emma Hawkins | April 21, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Happy Easter! It might seem a little late to have a Easter-themed recipe, but if like me your whole family’s getting together today and you need a baking activity to keep little people occupied (and use up some of the vast quantities of mini eggs floating around) then look no further. I came across this way of shaping cookies online and it looked so cute that I thought I’d give it a try. Granted mine look a little more quirky than the ones I saw on Pinterest and whilst I quite like the variation in my herd I’m gonna blame this on my gingerbread man cutter. The idea is that you make gingerbread men, then fold the arms over a mini egg in the middle, turn them upside down and poke some eyes in and hey presto you’ve got yourself a rabbit holding an Easter egg! Unfortunately my gingerbread man cutter was very human shaped so the bodies were longer than they should have been and as a result I’ve de-capitated the men to get my rabbits, but hey ho I think it worked.

The best way to make this much easier is to make sure the dough is super super cold. I put mine the freezer before and half way through rolling as it made it easier to get the rabbits from the table to the baking trays – otherwise you end up with some very all-shapes-and-sizes kinda rabbits, which is sweet and endearing in it’s own way, but might not be what you’re looking for. You can also mix up the flavours in anyway you want when you’ve got the hang of the shaping. You could add spices or chocolate chips to the dough and/or dip the rabbits in melted chocolate and 100s + 1000s to jazz them up a bit!

Recipe

Makes 16

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

200g Butter
200g Caster sugar
1 Egg
500g Plain flour
25g Cocoa powder
1 small bag of Mini eggs (around 16 eggs total)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper or Teflon sheets.
Cream together the butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Then add the egg and beat it in.
Equally divide the mixture between two bowls (roughly 220g in each, but I’d recommend measuring the weight of all your dough then dividing it in 2). Add half the flour to each bowl and then add the cocoa powder to one. Mix everything in each bowl together until you have 2 smooth doughs.
Wrap each dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and then transfer it to a freezer 30 minutes before rolling.
Roll one of the doughs out between two sheets of cling film to make a sheet roughly half the thickness of a pound coin. Then cut out as many gingerbread men as you can. Transfer these to your lined baking trays, fold the remaining dough back into a ball and re-roll. Repeat until you’ve used the dough as much as possible. Then do this for your other flavoured dough.
Once you have all your gingerbread men place a mini egg in the ‘belly’ of each with the pointy end facing downwards (towards where the ears will be).
Turn your gingerbread men upside down and from now on think of them as rabbits. Take the two arms and fold them up over the egg to secure it in place. Then take a cocktail stick and if needed chop off the heads of the ex-gingerbread men and place to one side (you can bake these ‘heads’ alongside the rabbits to make bite-sized biscuits).
Using the same cocktail stick poke two eyes in the top of each rabbit to make some eyes and then press the flat of it into each ear to make indents.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until just starting to go solid and brown a little. They’ll firm up a lot when out of the oven so don’t worry if they’re not crisp. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Simnel Hot Cross Buns

By Emma Hawkins | April 17, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I’ve never been much of a fan of hot cross buns – too fruity, too dry, too many of them around wayyy too long before Easter. Yet every year between February and mid-late April the hot cross buns hit the shops and before I know it there’s a couple of slices in the toaster and I’m holding a knife at the ready to slather them in butter.

So this year I’ve finally accepted that there is something to be said for this humble Easter bread and have decided to make my own hot cross buns – but trying to correct all the flaws I think the shop ones you get have. Less fruit – still enough to be a hot cross bun but not so much it’s bitter, a wetter dough to make it softer and less drying on the palette and a little ball of marzipan in the middle to give it an Easter simnel twist. Now, all that nerdism over essentially what is just a blob of fruity bread is probably enough proof that I’m a food fanatic who is a) procrastinating and b) stuck for things to say on this despite that putting marzipan in hot cross buns is a pretty fine combination. So eyo, onto the recipe…

Recipe

Makes 15

Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

For the dough

300ml Milk
50g Butter
500g Strong white bread flour
1 tsp Salt
75g Caster sugar
1 tbsp Sunflower oil
7g Fast-action dried yeast
1 Large egg, beaten
75g Sultanas
25g Mixed peel
Zest of 1 Orange
1 Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Mixed spice
85g Marzipan

To decorate

75g Plain flour
3 tbsp Apricot jam

Method

Put the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add the butter and leave to melt/cool down.
Put the bread flour, salt, sugar, and yeast into a bowl and mix together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk. Then add the beaten egg and mix with a round bladed knife until a dough starts to form.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Then leave in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Once proved turn the dough out onto a work top and knead for 5 seconds to knock out the air. Then add the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, chopped apple, cinnamon and mixed spice to the dough. Knead them into the dough and then put back into the bowl and leave to rise again until doubled in size, again covered in cling film.
Meanwhile split the marzipan into 15 equal chunks and then roll each into a ball. Leave to one side, covered in cling film until needed.
When risen divide the dough into 15 pieces and roll each into a circle with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Put a ball of marzipan into the centre of each dough disk and then bring the dough up around it so you have dough balls surrounding a ball of marzipan.
Place the buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Arrange them so they have room to grow, but close enough so they’ll join when they rise. Cover loosely with cling film and leave to rise for another hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Mix the flour with 5 tbsp of water, a little at a time, to make a paste. Spoon this into a piping bag fitted with a small, round nozzle. Pipe a line across the centre of the buns in one direction, then the other to make a cross. Bake the buns in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through.
Gently heat the apricot jam in the microwave for around 20 seconds to loosen it up. Then sieve it to remove any lumps and brush it over the buns to glaze. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Cookie Dough Cake

By Emma Hawkins | April 3, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

So I’m officially in my 20s and the wide road of young adulthood lies before me yada yada yada. I’m starting to realise that no matter how old you get you still have no idea what’s going on – you just learn to ride the sinking boat a little better than before. But at least we’re all on that boat together and there are life savers like cookie dough and cake to keep us going. I’m talking cookie dough, in a cake, in cookie dough with cookies on it!!

So here I am, a slightly confused 20 year old with a big pile of cookie dough cake in m’ kitchen and another year of comfort cookery to come. In the meantime I still have 3/4 of this whopping cake so if anyone local wants some hmu!

Recipe

Serves 12-16

Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

75g Butter
20g Brown sugar
25g Caster sugar
1.5 tbsp Milk
65g Plain flour
¼ tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
20g Milk chocolate chips
20g Dark chocolate chips

For the cake

200g Butter
430g Caster sugar
3 Large eggs
120g Greek yogurt
220ml Whole milk
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
420g Plain flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
175g Milk chocolate chips

For the buttercream

300g Butter
105g Brown sugar
975g Icing sugar
200g Plain flour
8 tbsp Milk
2 tsp Vanilla bean paste

To decorate

100g Dark chocolate
100g Double cream
Small cookies to decorate

Method

Begin by making the cookie dough. Put the butter and sugars into a bowl and cream together until pale and creamy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add the flour, salt and chocolate chips. Stir to make a smooth dough.
Take the dough and split it into 12 balls. Then chill the balls in the fridge for 2 hours (or in the freezer for 1 hour).
Now start the cake. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and grease and line 3x 7.5inch cake tins with butter and baking paper.
In a large bowl mix together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Whisk in one egg at a time, then whisk in the yogurt. Next whisk in the milk and vanilla, followed by the flour, baking powder and salt. Finally fold in the chocolate chips to make a smooth batter.
Evenly divide the mixture between the lined tins and spread them out to make an even layer. Take the cookie dough balls out of the fridge and squash them to make ‘patties’. Then put 4 bits of cookie dough in each tin, pressing them down slightly so they’re covered in cake mix.
Bake the cakes in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool down for 30 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile make the buttercream. Put the butter and brown sugar into a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the icing sugar and flour and mix again until smooth.
Slowly add the milk and vanilla to the mixture, beating constantly with a spoon to make a smooth icing.
When the cakes are completely cool you’re ready to start assembling. Put one of the cakes onto a board or plate and then spread 1-2 tbsp on top. Layer another cake on top and repeat with icing and cake layers.
Once stacked blob half the remaining icing on top of the cake and use a palette knife to work it around the sides of the cake. This is your crumb coat so you want it to be smooth but don’t worry if you can still see the cake as you’ll put another layer on it later. Leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
Take the cake out of the fridge and blob the rest of the icing on the top. Again, gently smooth the icing round the side of the cake to make a smooth finish. Leave in the fridge until needed.
Now make the chocolate drips for the decoration. Finely chop the chocolate and put it into a heat-proof bowl. Then heat the cream in a small saucepan until just about to boil.
Pour the hot cream onto chopped chocolate and stir to make a smooth ganache. Leave to cool until pourable but not hot.
Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use a spatula to gently push it over the side of the cake to make drips. Pipe extra icing in rosettes on the top of the cake. Then cut the cookies in half and place them around the edge of the cake and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Blueberry and Pistachio Scones

By Emma Hawkins | March 31, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Happy Mother’s Day! Today’s the day to look to our mothers and take a moment to realise how lucky we are to have them in our lives. It can be a very hard day for some – those who have lost their mums, have a difficult relationship with their mums, or may even be struggling to have children themselves. But if that’s the case maybe take the time today to remember those who are there for you. Think of the motherly figure in your life and take a second to thank them for all they’ve done for you!

As the photo shows above, before I took to the whisk my Mum was the one cooking in the wooden-tabled-kitchen you see in all my photos. One of the many things my Mum’s done for me is introduce me to the world of cooking and set me off on the path I’m on now. As long as I can remember I’ve been sat in the kitchen at my Mother’s side, cracking eggs, sifting flour and cutting out biscuits, and I’m so grateful for it! Something that I’m still working towards is to make scones as light and scrumptious as the ones she makes. They’re always beautifully risen, golden brown and seem to come out the oven just when you need them.

For me nothing beats a good scone with lots of jam and cream and nothing makes me feel more at home than the smell of freshly baked scones just out of the oven, but I think adding some delish blueberries and pistachios into the mix makes them a little bit special for a day like today. You could also try adding strawberries, blackberries or even try playing around with different nuts if you want to work with what’s in season!

Recipe

Makes 14

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

370g Self Raising flour
1 tsp Baking powder
40g Caster sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon
80g Butter
150g Blueberries
60g Pistachios, shelled
100ml Full fat milk
2 Large eggs, plus 1 for glazing

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and mix together to combine.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients and rub the butter into the flour until fully combined (the mixture should look a little like breadcrumbs).
Coarsely chop the pistachios on a board and then add it to the scone mixture. Then add the blueberries and stir them into the mixture.
In another bowl mix the milk and eggs and then pour this mixture into the main bowl. Mix everything together with a round-bladed knife to make a soft dough.
Lightly flour your work top and turn the dough out onto it. Gently roll the dough out to about 2.5cm thick and then cut out scones using a 4cm wide cookie cutter.
Break the egg into a small bowl and beat it with a fork. Then brush the beaten egg over the top of the scones to glaze.
Bake the scones in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and with a firm top. Serve with jam and clotted cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Hazelnut Mocha Bread

By Emma Hawkins | March 27, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I’m just going to pause for a moment and soak up the beauty that is this eight-strand plaited hazelnut mocha bread (yes it’s a mouthful of a name but it’s worth it!)….. OK…. onto where we are this week. In the words of The Beatles ‘when I find myself in times of trouble’ bread is there to comfort me. Everything’s a little crazy at the moment, I’m not entirely sure which way is up and I’m just diving head first into I don’t quite know what. But hey. Get some bread dough in between your fingers, smell it baking in the oven, taste the freshness on your tongue and it’s just about bearable.

One thing great about bread is that it’s a very forgiving medium. Unlike pastry it’s hard to over work bread dough and so as long as the bake is right it’s (relatively) easy to get a warm fresh loaf on the table with ease. The first few times I made bread it was generally more effective as a garden rock than as an edible delicacy, but once I got the hang of kneading and proving everything fell into place. Not to mention how satisfying it is when the loaf comes out of the oven warm, a gorgeous shade of brown and 100% homemade. Call me dramatic but there’s a level of love and comfort poured into a homemade loaf of bread that you just don’t get from shop bought ones.

So if you’re ever bored, angry, frustrated or restless bread is the thing you need to be making. Pummel all your feelings onto the dough, stuff it with luscious flavours and it’ll rise into a beautiful cradle of comfort!

Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

Time: 2 hours, plus proving and baking time

Ingredients

For the dough

650g Strong white bread flour
12g Salt
14g Dried yeast
35g Unsalted butter
400ml Water
3 tbsp Coffee granules
1 Small egg

For the filling

4 tbsp Nutella
A Few handfuls of chopped hazelnuts

Method

Put the flour, salt, yeast and butter into a large bowl. Make sure to put the yeast and salt on different sides of the bowl as the salt could de-activate the yeast.
Bring 1/4 of the water to the boil in a pan or kettle and then add and leave the coffee to dissolve in it. Top the coffee solution with the rest of the cold water, then add 2/3 of it to the dry ingredients and stir to make a loose dough. Add the rest of the coffee mix and then bring together with your hands into a ball.
Turn the dough out onto a table and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and stretchy. Put the dough back into a clean bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
Once risen take the dough out of the bowl and knead for a couple of seconds to knock the air out. Then split the dough into 4. Roll each piece of dough out into a rectangle 40cm x 30cm.
Spread the ¼ of the Nutella over each bread sheet. Then sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts. Roll up each bit of dough long edge to long edge to make tight rolls. Then halve each roll to make 8 strands.
Now comes the plaiting. Lay the strands out on a large surface and group the ends together at the side furthest away from you on the table. Now number the strands in your head 1-8, working left to right. Every time you plait the numbers will re-jig so that it’s still 1-8 left to right.
Now start plaiting through the sequence. First take 8 under 7 and then over 1. Then repeat the following steps until the plait is finished:
- Take 8 over 5.
- Take 2 under 3 and over 8
- Take 1 over 4
- Take 7 under 6 and over 1.

It’s going to be a little complicated, but keep going and it’ll be fine! Once finished tuck the end of the plait under itself to fuse it. Then transfer it to a line baking tray. Cover loosely with cling film and prove for another hour or so to double in size.
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork and then brush over the loaf to glaze. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes – 1 hour until golden brown and cooked through. If it starts to burn on top cover with tin foil and keep it in the oven. Leave to cool a little before serving!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x