Rainbow Bakes
In support of LGBT month, our February meeting was rainbow themed. It was great seeing such a variety of colourful bakes to try!
Below, i've detailed 5 of my favourite recipes from the night - Enjoy!
Holly's Confetti Cookies
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup (8 ounces, 225 grams or 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 ounces, 55 grams or 1/4 of an 8-ounce brick) cream cheese
1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1/2 a vanilla bean, split and scraped (see Note up top)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 cup rainbow sprinkles
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking large sheets with parchment paper
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and extracts and blend again. Add flour mixture and beat just until flour disappears.
Scoop balls of dough and roll them briefly in the palms of your hands before dropping them in a bowl of rainbow sprinkles and gently rolling to coat them evenly.
Transfer balls of sprinkle-coated dough to baking sheets at least two inches apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down on the cookies until they are about 1/4 to 1/2-inch tall.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until they look underbaked but lightly golden underneath.
Let set on the baking sheet on a rack for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool the rest of the way.
Star Baker: Katie's Cream Puffs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
No-Fuss Pastry Cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.
For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.
Madeline's Rainbow Tartlets
Makes 54 tartlets (9 of each colour)
3 sheets of shortcrust pastry
½ tub cream cheese (savoury tarts)
1tbsp of milk (savoury tarts)
½ jar of Nutella (sweet tarts)
1 punnet of strawberries (red)
1 butternut squash (orange)
1 yellow pepper (yellow)
1 bundle of asparagus (green)
1 punnet of blueberries (blue)
1 punnet of red grapes (purple)
Finely grated cheese (to garnish savoury tarts)
Pinch of salt and pepper (to season savoury tarts)
1 egg whisked
Pastry brush
12 hole cupcake tray
Fine cheese grater
Pastry cutters
Preheat oven to 190°c
Sweet Tartlets
Cut 27 rounds from the pastry sheets (each sheet should make 12 plus another 6 when rerolled).
Press each round into the hole in the cupcake tin and brush each round with egg wash.
Put into the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
When ready take out the cooked tartlet bases and leave to cool for 20 minutes.
When cooled, fill each tartlet with half a teaspoon and Nutella.
Fill 9 with cut strawberries, 9 with blueberries, and 9 with cut grapes (skin side up) - use enough fruit to cover Nutella and create the desired colour effect.
Savoury Tartlets
Use the remainder of the pastry to cut 27 more rounds.
Press pastry rounds into cupcake tins and brush with egg wash.
Put into the oven, and cook for 10-15 minutes until just starting to cook through.
While tartlets are cooking, cut up butternut squash into cubes, put in microwavable bowl with a splash of water, cover with clingfilm and cook for 10 minutes.
Take out of the oven and push down middles with teaspoon.
Mix cream cheese with the milk and spoon into the tartlet bases.
Fill 9 with the cooked butternut squash cubes, 9 with cut up yellow pepper, and 9 with cut up asparagus spears.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, and a little finely grated cheese over each tartlet and cook for a further 20 minutes until nicely golden.
Assemble all tartlets in colour order of the LGBT rainbow flag and serve.
Joanna's Matcha Swirl Loop
Plain dough
1.5 cups bread flour
20g butter
2 tbsp sugar
1tsp yeast
Enough water or warmed milk to form soft dough
Green dough
1.5 cups bread flour
2 tbsp matcha powder
20g butter
2 tbsp sugar
1tsp yeast
Enough water or warmed milk to form soft dough
Mix everything together for each dough separately and knead. Leave to prove somewhere warm until each has doubled in size.
Roll each dough out into a rectangle and lay green rectangle on top of plain rectangle.
Roll up like a Swiss roll and leave to prove again (40 mins).
Bake in oven at 200 for about 25 mins or until hollow when tapped.
Brush with melted butter straight out the oven and dust with a thick layer of icing sugar to stick to the melted butter.
Mathilde's Blueberry Crumble Muffins
For the muffins
360g self raising flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs (medium)
230g fine granulated sugar
100g butter, melted and cooled
240 ml milk
zest of one lemon (unwaxed)
1 granny smith apple - peeled in 1cm cubes
200g fresh blueberries + some extra for the top
For the crumble
150g flour
pinch of salt
50g fine granulated sugar
100g cold butter in mini cubes
First, make the crumble: add the flour, sugar, butter and salt in a bowl and rub the butter into the flour and sugar into breadcrumb mixture - don't mix it into a dough
For the muffins, pre-heat at 170C and put cases in the muffin tin
Whisk the eggs, sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir the milk and lemon zest through the mixture and carefully add the apple cubes and blueberries
Add flour and salt to the mixture and carefully stir it through (you want it to look lumpy - dont overmix)
Fill the muffin cases until just underneath the edge (+/- 0.5cm underneath)
Place a pile of crumble mixture on top and put 2/3 blueberries on top
Bake for 25-30 minutes - they might seem undercooked at the bottom but they will firm up when they cool down. The top of the muffins should be golden
Here is a selection of photos from the night. Hope to see some of you at the next meeting!