Monday, June 21, 2010

Visual Delights: Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

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Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Recipe modified from Allrecipes.com

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1-1/2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup raisins
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, and raisins. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a firm but sticky dough.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends.
5. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 2 hours.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans, and brush with melted butter or margarine. Let cool before slicing.

Notes: Makes 2 loaves. Freezes well.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Summer Coconut Coffee Popsicles

The summer is hitting it's peak temperatures and the heat waves are getting unbearable.

After weeks of being tempted by frozen-treat-food porn and bookmarking dozens of popsicle recipes, I finally bought some molds off Taobao.com(for RMB 9.90) and have been freezing all kinds of random liquids ever since.

My thoughts so far:
-Freezing fresh fruit juices is great, even better if you also add chunks of fresh/dried fruit
-Freezing Jello is gross
-Freezing coffee is FANTASTIC (see recipe below)

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Coconut Coffee Popsicles
Adapted from MyColombianRecipes
(Makes 6-8 popsicles depending on your molds)

1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 can (13.5 oz) condensed milk
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup brewed black coffee (I used coffee Arabica)

1.Pour the three types of milk into a blender and blend until smooth.
2.Fill 3 quarters of the popsicle molds with the blended mixture. Fill the remaining spaces in the molds with coffee. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze overnight.

I want to try freezing alcohol pops next! ^0^

About Me

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I'm a journalism student and a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Baking, getting random Chinese ingredients, reading recipes and playing in the kitchen are part of my many interests.