If you’re up to date with Baking with Gab, you will have seen my darling little bundt babies. They were so cute that I almost struggled to eat them.
Almost. They were delectable enough that the guilt subsided eventually.
And those little cutenesses reminded me how much I adore bundt. They’re show-stoppers, centre-pieces, let-me-have-the-first-slice kind of cakes. Continue reading “GF Rosewater rhubarb bundt and bundt obsession”
I am a fan of all things miniature. Norman is a testament to this – my family joke that if we had three Normans and stacked them one on top of the other, we’d have a real dog. I love that mini old-fashioned milk bottles are in vogue at the moment, I’ve used mine in various photo shoots. (You can see them in my chocolate milkshakes post.)
It’s rather funny that I made mini cakes out of the rhubarb I purchased, which was ginormous. Continue reading “Strawberry rhubarb bundt and miniatures”
Over the weekend the boy and I went to Orange Grove Markets. I got what I needed and we grabbed a delicious bacon and egg roll for brekkie. It was a regular Sunday morning.
It wasn’t until we made our way to leave that I found this amazingly oversized rhubarb. it was so ridiculously enormous that I made The Boy pose with it in several locations until I got a photo that did it justice. (If you don’t follow me on instagram and wish to see important updates such as my giant rhubarb, click here.)
It’s Father’s Day, and I’m on my way to visit my favourite father, so I’m going to keep things short and sweet. Coincidentally, that is also a perfect description of this recipe!
This rhubarb and vanilla jam is so speedy to whip up that you will wonder why your fridge is not filled with every single delicious home-made jam in the world. You can have it made in under 20 minutes! I tend to think that the less ingredients your jam has, the better, so with four ingredients, this rhubarb and vanilla delight is a winner.
I made it for Father’s Day because my dad is a bit of a rhubarb fiend. I have vivid childhood memories of him stewing it slopping it over ice cream. Slop is exactly the sound I recall it making as he scooped it from the pan into his dessert bowl.
Sorry dad, but it never looked appetising! The beautiful, vibrant colours would leech out of the stalks and into the water, leaving everything looking a bit anaemic.
It was only recently that I re-discovered rhubarb. I like it best when it’s complimented with sweetness, like in my rhubarb glazed doughnuts, or in a lovely syrup and served with porridge, like I had for brekkie the other day.
Makes one cup.
Grab a large, heavy-bottomed pan and put the water in first, this will stop the sugar from catching on the bottom of the pan and burning.
Add the rhubarb, vanilla paste and sugar. I used Heilala vanilla bean paste because it’s slightly more concentrated than vanilla extract. If you’re using regular vanilla extract, add a dash extra.
Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. You’ll notice the syrup start to turn a beautiful pinky-red colour.
Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up to medium-high and stir constantly for 12-14 minutes.
As you’re stirring press down with your wooden spoon to get rid of any big chunks of rhubarb. When the jam has thickened and most of the liquid has disappeared, it’s done.
Scoop into a sterilised jar with an air tight lid and pop into the fridge to cool down and firm up.
This jam is delicious on toast, the vanilla gives it a mellow sweetness which makes it taste like rhubarb with custard!
Lacking doughnut tins, I constantly avoid making doughnuts. Over the weekend, however, my will was not strong enough to resist my cravings for doughnuts, and I made them without the proper tin. And I made lots of them. Seriously, lots.
Was it an issue? Not at all. In fact, I’d say they were a resounding success. They were slightly heavier than a fried doughnut, but the taste was perfect. The Boy took one bite, and, eyes widened, exclaimed “they actually taste like doughnuts.”
As though my doughnut cravings would have settled for anything less!
The only tip in would offer for future doughnut bakers is to use thin jam. My jam had strawberry chunks in it (which is usually a good thing!), which made it difficult to squirt them into the centre of my doughnuts.
Makes 48 minis, or 24 large
Fit your mixer with your bread hook attachment*. Combine your flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add in your melted butter, slowly, allowing it to start to bring the mixture together. Mix for two more minutes, adding the eggs and vanilla as you go. Mix in the milk, half a cup at a time, until you have a cohesive dough, then continue kneading for 6 minutes.
*If you don’t have a stand mixer, a wooden spoon will work too, it will just take a little more muscle! When it comes to kneading, you can do this by hand as well, just adjust the kneading time by about half, so instead of stand mixing it for 6 minutes, you’ll hand knead it for 9.
Divide the mixture into two and put them in separate bowls. Cover your bowls with cling wrap, then leave it in a warm, dry place to sit for 1-1.5 hours. I left mine for 1.5, just to make sure I got maximum doughnuts out of mixture.
When your dough has 30 minutes of rising left, preheat your oven to 180°. Grease a large baking tray with the 20g of butter and put your rhubarb in the tray. Roast for 20 minutes, until softened. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool slightly, then mash into a pulp.
Once the dough is risen, divide the dough in each bowl (use a sharp knife to easily slice through the dough) into 24. I find the best way to ensure even-sized doughnuts is to weigh the portions out on scales.
Once you have 48 bits of dough, roll them into balls by turning the dough in on itself and tucking the excess under.
Pop the balls into a greased 24 capacity mini cupcake tin, then let them sit for a further 15 minutes.
While they’re cooking, melt the chocolate, sieve the rhubarb pulp into the melted chocolate and mix in the cream. Sift the icing sugar into the mixture, then mix until smooth. If they icing isn’t looking pink enough, add a few drops of pink food colouring.
Preheat your oven to 180C°.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped. (If you choose to make 12 regular cupcake sized doughnuts, bake for 15-18 minutes.)
When the doughnuts are cooled, use a squeezy bottle to put a small amount of jam or runny custard at the centre, then spoon the glaze over the top. Top with sprinkles for an extra doughnut-y feel.
