Hot Cross Buns 2012

The time is here, the time for HOT CROSS BUNS! Religious or not, the hot cross buns are tasty and is a must eat for everyone.

You will need:

• 1 cup Dairy Free Milk
• 150 g Vegan Margarine
• 50 g Fresh Yeast (5 tbs active dry yeast or according to packet instructions)
• ½ cup White Sugar
• 4 cups Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Allspice
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Cloves
• 1 tsp Salt
• Egg Replacer equal to 3 eggs
• 1 cup Sultanas and 
• (Optional: Peel of 1 cleaned Orange)

For the crosses: 

• 4 tbs Plain Flour
• 4 tbs Cold Water.

Glazing: 

• ½ cup Water
• ½ cup Sugar.

1. Crumble your fresh yeast in a big bowl. Melt your margarine, add the milk and heat until body temperature (37 C / 98 F). Pour the liquid over the yeast and mix until lump free.
2. Add the sugar, salt and spices. Mix well and then add your egg recplacer (pre-mixed accoring to the directions on the packet), sultanas and peel.
3. Add your flour and mix until the dough gets glossy and smooth.
4. Leave in a lightly floured bowl, dust the dough with flour and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
5. Leave to rise for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. After rising, divide the dough into 20 equal sized round buns and place them on a oven tray with baking paper. (make sure you don't knead the dough to much, to save air in the buns)
7. Cover again with the clean kitchen towel and leave to rise for another 45 minutes.
8. Pre-Heat your oven to 200 C / 390 F and prepare the glaze by adding the sugar to boiling water and stirring until clear.
9. Mix the flour and water for your crosses.
10. Pipe the cross shape onto your buns right before baking them for 10-12 min (until golden).
11. When the hot cross buns comes out of the oven brush them with your sugar glaze. This will make them shiny and sticky, a must for the hot cross buns.
12. Eat them by cutting them in half and spreading with margarine (toasting the hot cross buns is a grat tip).
13. Very tasty! Enjoy!

2011 years hot cross buns

Oat Porridge

Super fast, super easy and super healthy. SUPER OAT PORRIDGE! 
I recently rediscovered the oat porridge I loved as a child and here it is. This can be eaten with so many different extras, as banana, fresh berries and fruit, vanilla sugar or my favourite raspberry jam.

You Will Need:

• 2 dl (0.85 cups) Traditional Rolled Oats
• 4 dl (400 ml) Water
• 1 pinch of salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a pan and gently bring to a boil. 
2. The porridge is done once the oats have soaked up all the water.

To Eat

• Vegan Milk, I use Alpro Natural Soya Milk.
• Raspberry Jam 
• (+ small sprinkle of sugar)

1. Serve warm in a bowl. Sprinkle with a small ammount of sugar, some raspberry jam and milk.

Alternatives:

• Cinnamon & Sugar
• Banana Slices
• Vanilla Sugar
• Fresh Fruit
• Berries

Semla / Fettisdagsbulle / Fat Tuesday Buns

The Semla was originally eaten only on Shrove Tuesday, as the last festive food before Lent. However, with the arrival of the Protestant Reformation, the Swedes stopped observing a strict fasting for Lent. The semla in its bowl of warm milk became a traditional dessert every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter. Today, Semlor are available in shops and bakeries every day from shortly after Christmas until Easter. Each Swede consumes on average five bakery-produced semlor each year, in addition to all those that are homemade.

King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne, which was topped off by fourteen helpings of Semla with warm milk, the king's favorite dessert.

The Semla is a wonderful, tasty sweet cardamon bun with almond paste and whipped cream.

You Will Need:

For the buns:

• 150 g Vegan Margarine
• 500 ml Dairy Free Milk
• 50 g Fresh Yeast (or equal ammount of dry yeast, read on packet)
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ cup (1-1½ dl) Sugar
• 1½ tsp Cardamon powder
• 4 1/4-5½ cup (10-13 dl) Plain Flour

1. Melt the margarine and add the milk to it. Heat until finger warm (37C / 98F)
2. Crumble the yeast in a big bowl, add the milk/margarine liquid some at a time to dissolve the yeast.
3. Add the salt, sugar and cardamon and mix. Once mixed add most of the flour (≈ 2/3 of total ammount)
4. Add more flour and mix until the dough is shiny and isn't sticking to the bowl. (Remember, don't add too much flour. The dough will be tough and won't rise as good)
5. Leave to rise in a warm room with no draft covered with a cloth until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Gently knead the dough and split into 30 round buns. Evenly space the dough balls on a few baking sheets on a trays and leave to rise under a cloth again until the buns are twice their size. (make sure they rise alot to get the light and airy)
7. Brush with some water and bake in the middle of the oven at (fan oven) 225C / 440F ("normal" oven) 480F / 250C.
8. Leave to cool.

Filling

• Vegan Whip Cream + a dash of vanillasugar & white sugar (store bought vegan brand or make your own vegan whip by whisking the hard part of full fat coconut milk/cream)
• Almond Paste
• Dairy Free Milk
• Icing Sugar

1. Whip the cream of your choice with a dash of vanillasugar and white sugar.
2. Cut the top of the buns (just a small lid) and take a little of the bread out. Mix the bread bits with the almond paste and a small dash of milk. It should be a creamy texture.
3. Fill the buns with the almond paste mix.
4. Top with the whipped cream, lid and then dust with icing sugar.

Optional: Serve in a bowl/deep plate with warm dairy free milk.

Tip: 

These buns freeze very well for later use

They are tasty and can be eaten as is 

Semolina Porridge / Mannagrynsgröt

Healthy breakfast, quick and light lunch or a treat. Semolina porridge is all those wrapped into one. So what is Semolina? Well...Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, also used for breakfast cereals, porridge and puddings. In Sweden we love all types or porridge (especially the ones eaten with milk, sugar & cinnamon) and most common ones are made from rice, oats or semolina.

You Will Need (2portions):

• 4 tbs (4x15ml) Semolina
• 400 ml (4 dl) Dairy Free Cooking Cream/Milk (I use unsweetened)
• 1 pinch of Salt

To serve:

• Cinnamon
• Sugar
• Dairy Free Milk (I use Alpro Soya Natural)

1. Heat the cooking cream/milk in a pan along with the salt.
2. Add the semolina. Bring to a simmer whilst stirring. Let simmer for 4 minutes.
3. Now the porridge is done! EASY! Serve warm with the sugar, cinnamon and milk.