Pumpkin Cinnamon Scrolls

Pumpkins are plentiful and so I am baking with them again!

Here is a healthier version of my Cinnamon Buns because not only does it have pumpkin in it (as a substitute for a lot of the butter and sugar) but also uses some wholemeal flour! Thank you LivLife for the recipe.

Ingredients
120g pumpkin, peeled and chopped roughly into 3cm chunks
185g milk
40g butter
15g honey
2 tsp dry yeast
280g bakers flour
150g wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2-3tbsp extra butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
1. Place pumpkin in TM bowl. Chop for 10 seconds on speed 5. Cook at Varoma temperature for 10 minutes on speed 3. Puree for 10 seconds on speed 8.
2. Add milk, butter and honey. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 3.
3. Make sure temperature of TM bowl is not more than 50C then add yeast, flours, salt and nutmeg. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. Knead for 3 minutes on interval speed.
4. Remove dough from TM bowl and place in a large bowl. Cover and leave for at least 1 hour or until double in size.
5. Roll out dough to about 1cm thick. Spread melted butter over it and then sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar evenly over it. 
6. From the long edge roll the dough like a swiss roll then cut into 2-3cm rolls. (Have a look at my Cinnamon Bun post for scroll making pics). Place into a greased or lined baking dish with space between them to allow them to grow in size. Leave for at least half an hour or until doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 200C.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes until nicely brown.
9. Devour whilst warm!

Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns

It's Easter time and I've been busy hot cross bunning! (If you count 3 batches baked in 10 days as busy). The recipe is in the EDC (page 117 sans the choc chips). However I've decided to post my own version which came about purely by accident!
When making my first batch of the season I didn't realise my TM cord was caught up under one of its legs and resulted in serious weighing errors (something one should have learnt in Thermomix 101!)  I only discovered this once I had put in the milk and was weighing in the flour so there was no going back.  As I hate waste, I didn't throw it out but plowed ahead and did it all by "feel".  It produced the best batch I have ever made.  And therein lay the problem - I was not sure I could recreate it because of the errors!  Anyway a couple of experiments (and many calories) later, I think I have it.  

So here's my Thermotalk version of this month's "hottest" bun:
Ingredients
400g milk
60g raw sugar

15g dry yeast (4 tsp)

650g bakers flour
2 tsp salt
90g butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
200g mixed dried fruit (or your own favourite combo of any or all of sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries, cherries, mixed peel (but don't use more than 20g of this unless you really like the orange/lemon rind taste))
Approximately half a cup of dark chocolate chips
Extra butter

Method
Place milk into TM bowl and cook for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 1.
Place remaining ingredients (in order of the recipe list) into the TM bowl except the dried fruit and choc chips, and mix for 6 seconds on speed 7.
Place dried fruit into the TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
Set dial to closed lid position and knead for 4 minutes on Interval setting. 

Dough before first prove

Remove from TM bowl and put into a bowl to prove. As the  dough is quite sticky, use buttered hands to make it easier to remove from the TM bowl.

Doubled!

Put in a warm place to prove for 1 to 1.5 hours until dough more than doubles in size.
Grease a large baking tray (30cm x 40cm) (you can use baking paper but I find that I get a better bun if it is baked directly on the tray).

With buttered hands pull off enough dough for a dinner roll size bun, press 4-6 chocolate chips into the base and fold over to enclose and create a smooth top on your bun. Makes about 24. 

Buns  before second prove

Place onto baking tray about 1cm apart so that they have room to grow. Cover and let prove for about an hour until the buns are touching each other.

Crossed & ready for the oven

Pipe with crosses and bake in a pre-heated oven at 220C for 12 minutes or until a golden colour. Leave oven on.

Brush with hot sugar syrup and then place back into the oven for another minute to set the glaze.

Piping Mixture
Place 50g water, 40g plain flour, 1/2 tsp light olive oil and a pinch of salt in TM bowl and mix to combine for 30 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides if necessary and mix again until mixture is smooth and of pancake consistency. Pour into a piping bag (or a ziplock/freezer bag and snip a tiny bit off the corner) and pipe out the crosses onto the buns.

Sugar syrup
Dissolve 3 tbsp raw sugar in 3 tbsp of boiling water by stirring vigorously.

Best eaten straight from the oven whilst warm! Still good to eat a day later, and if (in the unlikely event) you have any leftover pop them in the freezer for a yummy snack another day.

Cinnamon Buns

Currently my family's most favourite baked good!

My own version of the Brioche recipe from the Thermomix EDC p116.

Ingredients

100g sugar (I used raw sugar)

330g warm milk

2tsp dry yeast

80g butter

650g bakers flour

1tsp salt
1 egg

Cinnamon sprinkle

2/3 cup brown sugar (can use more if desired)

2 tsps of cinnamon (can use more if desired)

Method

Place sugar in TM bowl and pulverise for 3 seconds on speed 9.

Place warm milk (I heat it up in the microwave on high for 1 minute), yeast, butter, flour, salt and egg in TM bowl.  Mix to combine for 10 seconds on speed 7.

Set dial to closed lid position.  Knead for 3 minutes on Interval speed.

Remove dough and let prove for 60 minutes in bowl covered with cling film to double in size. It can be left to prove for longer if you have the time. (I have left it up to 2 hours or even overnight in the fridge.  If left overnight in the fridge it would need at least an hour on the benchtop  to come back to room temperature and to rise to double in size).

After dough has doubled in size, remove from bowl and divide into two.

Take one portion and roll it into a rectangular shape of 3mm thick. (Usually makes a rectangle of about 30cm x 50cm). Sprinkle 1/3 cup of brown sugar evenly over the dough (but leaving 1 to 2cm at the top of one long edge).  Then sprinkle 1tsp cinnamon over the dough. Starting from one long edge roll the dough tightly to the other edge.  Press the dough together at the end to make sure it doesn't unravel.

With a sharp knife cut the dough on the cross section into 2 to 3cm scolls (depending on how fat you want your buns!)  Repeat with remaining portion of dough.

Place the scrolls spaced evenly apart into lined cake tins / oven trays (can do it without the greaseproof paper but just a bit sticky to clean up!) 

Let prove for 30 to 60 minutes to let them double in size.  Again you can leave them to prove longer than this if you have the time (it will make them fluffier!).  

Bake in a hot oven at 200C for approximately 20 minutes until they are golden brown and delicious!

Best eaten whilst warm!

Leftover tip (if there are any!): These freeze really well and are great for lunchbox snacks for the kids.  Just take them out of the freezer and pop them into the lunchbox and they will defrost in time for morning tea. For extra deliciousness at home you can pop them into the microwave for 5 seconds to warm them up a bit and make the brown sugar a bit oozy again!