March Break Recipes 2023

 

Scones

Yields approximately 12 scones 

Scones:

• 3 cups of All Purpose Flour or 361g
• ⅔ of a cup of sugar or 132 g
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder or 12g
• ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
• ⅔ of a cup cold unsalted butter or 142g
• 2 cups or 340g any fruit and or nuts, your choice
• 1 cup heavy cream or 242g
• 1 large egg with a touch of water for egg wash

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour granulated sugar baking powder and salt.
3. Grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and toss until the butter pieces are coated with flour. Add the fruit and nuts and toss of choice and gently to combine.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the cream. Toss the mixture with your fingers to combine. Then gently need to ensure everything is evenly moistened.
5. Scoop ¼ cup mold of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets leaving at least 1 inch between them.
6. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash. Bake the scones, switching the sheets from front to back in top to bottom at the halfway mark, for 20 to 22 minutes until the tops and edges are golden brown. The scones can be served warm or at room temperature.

Garden Focaccia 

Yield 9 x 13’’ pan 

Dough:

• 5 tablespoons (60g) olive oil, divided
• 1 ½  cups (340g) water, warm
• 1 ¼ teaspoons (8g) salt
• 3 ½ cups (420g) AP Flour 
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast

Topping Options 

• 1 tablespoon (13g) olive oil, for drizzling

• 3 cups (269g) sliced red onion (about 1 large red onion)
• 3 tablespoons (35g) olive oil, divided
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons (12g) salt
• 1 pound (454g) red bliss and/or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or basil, for garnish

Instruction for mixing dough

1. Use non-stick vegetable oil spray to lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons (25g) of the olive oil atop the spray; the spray keeps the bread from sticking, while the olive oil gives the bottom crust great flavour and a bit of crunch.
   
   
2. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons (35g) of the olive oil with the rest of the dough ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
   
   
3. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes — it should be quite puffy, but not fragile-looking.
   
   
4. While the dough is rising, prepare your toppings
   
   

Prepare your toppings

While your dough is rising, prepare your toppings by washing, peeling, slicing, and/or de-seeding your vegetables based on how you want to eat them. It helps to leave some pieces large and others small so you end up with a variety of colours, sizes, and textures.

Arrange the scene

Now comes the fun part! When the dough is almost finished rising, gently dimple the surface with your fingertips. (Usually the dimples in focaccia are quite prominent, but you want to create a relatively flat surface to work on, so go easy on the dough.)

Preheat your oven to 375.  Then drizzle olive oil over the dough. 

Place your toppings on the surface of the dough, using colours, patterns, textures, and flavours to your advantage. Remember, there's no right way to create art — feel free to be creative

Bake

Bake the bread until it's golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Homemade Pasta:

Yield: 2 Adult servings

This fresh homemade pasta is SO delicious and easy to make! Serve it simply with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, or use your favourite pasta sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & levelled
• 3 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Place the flour on a clean work surface and make a nest. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt to the center and use a fork to gently break up the eggs, keeping the flour walls intact as best as you can. Use your hands to gently bring the flour inward to incorporate. Continue working the dough with your hands to bring it together into a shaggy ball.
2. Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. At the beginning, the dough should feel pretty dry, but stick with it! It might not feel like it’s going to come together, but after 8-10 minutes of kneading, it should become cohesive and smooth. If the dough still seems too dry, sprinkle your fingers with a tiny bit of water to incorporate. If it’s too sticky, dust more flour onto your work surface. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Dust 2 large baking sheets with flour and set aside.
4. Slice the dough into four pieces. Gently flatten one into an oval disk. Run the dough through the Pasta Roller or roll by hand to get your desired shapes.
5. Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, Until pasta floats to the top of the water. 
6. Serve with your favourite sauce, enjoy!

Notes

Fresh pasta can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

 

Cake: 

Yields one 6’’  cake

Equipment:

• large straight edge or offset spatula
• bowls to warm buttercream

• bendy spatulas/spoons
• sharp paring (small) knife
• scissors
• whisk (recommended)
• cake turntable (recommended & optional)
  
  

Vanilla Cake Ingredients: 

• 160g or 1 ⅓ cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
•  ¼ tsp of salt
• 2 Eggs at room temperature
• 120ml or ½ a cup of oil
• 150g or ¾ of a cup of granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp of vanilla extract
• 150ml or ⅔ cup of milk at  room temperature

Ingredients for the buttercream:

• 2 cups or 400g of granulated sugar
• 4 Egg whites or 1/2 cup or 120g of Egg whites
• 2 pounds or 2 cups or 908g of Butter (soft and unsalted)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla 

Instructions for Vanilla Cake:

1. Using the cake pan, trace the bottom onto parchment. Cut 2 parchment circles. Place circles in the pan so that it lines the bottom. Using 1 teaspoon of butter, grease the sides of the pan.
2. Move the rack into the middle position of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325F.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, mix together with a whisk and set aside.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oil and sugar until it is well combined.
5. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk, folding together with a spatula between each addition. Mix the batter until combined. Be careful not to over mix, which will lead to a tough dense cake.
7. Bake the cake for approximately 20-25 minutes.  Each oven at home is different. Use your oven light to check in on the cake, instead of opening and closing your over door.  
8. Cakes are done when you test your cake with a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on the counter in their pans. Once fully cool, you can remove them from the cake pans, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Do not stack soft cakes.

 Instructions for Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. In a large bowl over a double boiler on medium to high heat, combine egg whites and sugar.
2. Slowly whisk the mixture together until sugar begins to melt and egg white becomes frothy. Be careful of hot steam from the double boiler. I like to wear oven mitts while mixing.
3. The mixture is ready when the sugar is dissolved (no gritty sugar). The mixture will also be much more runny from when you started the process of cooking.
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Starting on medium low, mix until mixture has cooled down.
5. Once there's no visible steam coming from the mixture, turn the mixer to medium-high speed and continue mixing.
6. The mixture will triple in volume and will become white, fluffy and glossy. You can now add the butter.
7. Add softened butter gradually and whip until incorporated, then add the vanilla or the flavours of your choice.
8. Flavour the buttercream however you like, whip in extract, melted chocolate, fruit purees or even Oreo crumbs, let your creativity shine!!!

American Buttercream

Yields enough buttercream to stack and mask a 6” round cake

Ingredients:

• 900g butter (room temperature)
• 480g icing sugar (sifted)
• Up to 250g whole milk(room temperature)

Method:

1. Mix the room temperature butter using an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth and fluffy
2. Add sifted icing sugar in 2-3 parts. Mix each time starting on low speed and mix until the mixture is homogeneous, light and fluffy.
3. Add milk a little at a time on low speed, thoroughly incorporating any liquid before the addition of more milk and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. You can add more milk for a looser texture or less milk for a firmer texture.
4. Use buttercream to decorate on the same day or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to one week or the freezer for up to three months.  LET’S BAKE!

 TIPS AND TRICKS:

• you can heat up your milk to room temperature in the microwave or in a saucepan
• icing sugar is also called “powdered” or “confectioner’s sugar” in some countries
• granulated sugar can be used in place of icing sugar, but the frosting will be a little bit granular in texture from the sugar crystals
• pair bold flavours which go well with butter for an ‘American’ buttercream

Rainbow Dyed Sugar Cookies:

Yield 50 small to medium cookies

Ingredients for Sugar Cookie:

• 1 ⅞ cup or 425g Butter 
• 1 ¾ cup or 185g Icing sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla 
• 1 Egg 
• 4 ½ cups or 560g All purpose flour 
• Food colouring of your choosing 

Instructions for Sugar Cookies:

1. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Add flour in 2-3 rounds for easier mixing. Dough is done when flour is fully incorporated.
4. Divide dough into portions and colour dough with dye of your choosing. I like to use my favourite colours.
5. Place drops or your coloured dough onto your working surface and begin to roll the dough. As you roll the coloured doughs will stick together and be benign to look tye dyed on your work surface. Roll dough until it’s  about ½ cm in thickness and cut out shapes with desired cookie cutters.
6. Place on a cookie tray and bake for 8-12 mins at 325F.
7. Let the cookies cool on the tray
8. Leave cookies in a Tupperware on the counter and enjoy cookies for up to 1 week. 

Bagels:

Yields 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups or 240g flour + extra flour for dusting 
• 2 cups or 500 ml of 2% Greek yogurt (if you use a lower percentage of fat you will need more flour on hand) 
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• egg wash (1 egg with 2 tablespoon of water)
• toppings such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc 

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to a bowl, mix together. Add yogurt to bowl, stir until combined.
3. Sprinkle extra flour on your counter, pour dough on top.
4. Start kneading gently. If the dough is sticking to your hands, sprinkle in some flour a little at a time until your dough is soft and smooth. It should not be sticking to your hands.
5. Once smooth, shape into a nice ball and cut into 8 equal pieces.
6. Take one piece and roll it into your hands until you have a thick rope, then make your bagel shape by pinching the 2 ends of the rope together.
7. In a small bowl, beat your egg with a small amount of water.
8. Place formed bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, take a pastry brush and brush each bagel with your egg wash.
9. Sprinkle your bagels with sesame, poppy seeds, etc and bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. They are done when they are puffed up and golden brown. Let cool before enjoying. 

 

Apple Crumble

Yield 1 8x8 inch square baking dish

Crumble topping: 

• 75 grams or 5 ½  tablespoon brown sugar
• 65 grams or 6 ½  tablespoon All purpose flour 
• 70 grams or 4 ½  tablespoon Butter or Vegetable Oil  
• 70 grams or ¾ cup of Quick cooking oats/rolled oats  

Apple filling:

• 5-6 tart apples (we like to use Granny Smith, Spies, Galas, Russet, Cortland)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ of a lemon or 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A few pinches of salt

Method:

• Peel and cut apples, then add to your 8x8 baking dish. Miix together with sugar, cornstarch, lemon, cinnamon, and a few pinches of salt. Set aside.
• Next for the crumble topping. Make the crumble topping by hand, whisk together brown sugar, flour, and oats into a small bowl. Rub the butter or oil  into the dry ingredients using your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and pea sized. 
• Add the crumble topping to the top of your apples and spread the mixture out evenly.. 
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 20- 25  minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are bubbling.
• If you choose to freeze your crumble, bake the same way straight from frozen. The crumble may take an additional 5 mins to bake.