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Thermomix Brioche

Chocolate BriocheYesterday I shared the traditional French Brioche recipe from Brioche Pasquier with you. I told you about how they’re made in the factory, and showed you some photos from our masterclass in Brioche making from the professionals themselves.

I came home from the event and decided I had to make another batch as fast as I could, so that I would remember how it was done. Of course I had to tweak it a little for the Thermie, but it sure turned out beautiful!

Here’s pretty much the same recipe, but with some Thermomix tweaks for you.

Thermomix Briochettes
Recipe Type: Baked, Bread
Cuisine: French
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
A lovely, light brioche recipe perfect for the Thermomix. Normally I wouldn’t knead more than a few minutes in the Thermomix, but this recipe needs the dough to be silky and stretchy and around 7 minutes works really well.
Ingredients
  • 120g Sugar
  • 500g Strong White Flour
  • 40g Bread Yeast
  • 10g Salt
  • 90g Water
  • 3 Free Range Eggs
  • 125g Unsalted Butter
  • 250g [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=beyond+dark+chocolate&rh=n%3A340834031%2Ck%3Abeyond+dark+chocolate” target=”_blank”]Chocolate Chips[/url]
  • Milk for Milk Wash
Instructions
  1. Place the sugar in the bowl and pulse for a few seconds to make it into caster sugar. Remove half (60g) and put it aside.
  2. To the bowl, add the flour, bread yeast, and salt and pulse a few seconds to mix.
  3. Add the water, egg and butter and knead on the dough setting for about 5 minutes. Add the extra sugar and knead for a further 2 minutes.The dough will look silky and smooth.
  4. Add your chocolate chips and stir on speed 2 for 20 seconds.
  5. Divide the dough into about 12 even sized portions and role them as round as you can.
  6. Leave aside to rise for about 2 hours.
  7. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.
  8. Brush milk over the dough to glaze.
  9. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

 

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Brioche The Way Pasquier Do It

A few days ago I attended a brioche making class compliments of Brioche Pasquier. Apart from a lovely day out, I also got to try a range of their products, and I must say quite honestly that I am rather impressed, and my family and I have been enjoying our goody bag treats for days.

While I always steer away from buying pre-baked packaged treats because I’m not keen on all the preservatives that give them the shelf life they have, I had to opportunity to speak to the grandson of the founder of the company, and learn that actually I’m pretty comfortable buying the Pasquier range of baked goods for the occasional treat.

A few facts about Pasquier that really changed my view on this particular brand:

  • Their brioche and other product are baked with a live sourdough yeast that imparts a specific taste to their baked goods. These sourdough yeast cultures are kept in five different locations around France to ensure they are kept save and able to continue. 
  • The factory is a sterile environment and everything is made in complete sterility, so that when things are packaged and sealed, there are no bacteria or other factors that would cause them to go off or stale. Because of this Pasquier does not use any preservatives and their goods only have a 28 day shelf life. 
  • Because of this, while they aren’t as fresh as home baking, it seems they’re pretty much as close as you’re going to get without doing it yourself or going to a bakery. And you know what? For a bought good, not freshly made, they are pretty great! My family certainly devoured them. 
  • One of the products Pasquier make are a gorgeous brioche, which they gave us a masterclass in on the day. 

That was quite fun!

This recipe makes a lovely sticky, silky dough.

Brioche

 

It’s important to make the dough balls as round as possible.

Brioche

And a few hours later, you have beautiful Brioche.

BriocheHere’s the recipe if you’d like to make your own, and a Thermomix recipe will follow soon!

Brioche The Way Pasquier Do It
Recipe Type: Bakery
Cuisine: French
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
I’m sharing with you the recipe almost like it was given to us, although since making it at home I’ve had to substitute a few ingredients here and there. For example, these [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CD65WSO/” target=”_blank”]sugar crystals[/url] for topping, rather than what we were given on the day.
Ingredients
  • 500g strong flour
  • 90g water
  • 3 free range eggs
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 120g caster sugar (divided into two 60g portions)
  • 40g bread yeast
  • 10g table salt
  • [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=beyond+dark+chocolate+drops&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abeyond+dark+chocolate+drops” target=”_blank”]chocolate chips[/url] (optional, to taste, we use Beyond Dark)
  • 1 egg and milk for the egg&milk wash
Instructions
  1. Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
  2. Add the salt and half the sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other.
  3. Add the water, eggs and butter and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then on a medium speed for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the rest of the sugar and continue to mix for a further 4 minutes.
  5. The dough should be soft, shiny and elastic.
  6. Divide the dough into even pieces of roughly 50g each. Shape each piece into a smooth ball.
  7. Very lightly brush the dough with water to avoild the brioche drying out.
  8. Leave the rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes till doubled in size.
  9. Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.
  10. Brush the brioche with egg and milk wash.
  11. Sprinkle some pearl sugar/sugar crystals on the top.
  12. When the brioche is proved, bake for 10 minutes.
  13. Leave the brioche to cool before serving.
Notes
Thanks to Brioche Pasquier for the fabulous recipe!

 

 

 

 

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Easy Thermomix Meringues

Silky Thermomix Meringues

I make our mayonnaise, and many other things from scratch, often requiring only the yolk of an egg. I hate seeing things go to waste, so I try to make something with the left over whites. While this isn’t by any means a healthy recipe, it is a lovely one. If you don’t have a Thermomix, here’s my non-Thermomix recipe.

Unless you eat them all in one go, the Thermomix Meringues will last in the cupboard for weeks, if not months!

We put them in the lunch box as snacks sometimes, or have them as desert with cream and fruit – absolutely yum.

To make the colours like in the image above, you need to separate the meringue mix into different bowls and very gently stir through the food colouring. Then use a spoon to move the batter into an icing bag, putting different colours next to each other rather than on top of each other.  As you squeeze it, the colours will mix and make pretty meringues.

If you make meringues with brown sugar they’ll come out in this golden-ish hue rather than white.

Silky Thermomix Meringues

Easy Thermomix Meringues
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
You can adapt this recipe as far as you like, in terms of amounts used, so long as you use 110g sugar to each egg white. In a TM31, I wouldn’t be inclined to go beyond 6 egg whites however. I have successfully made this with just one egg white too.
Ingredients
  • 3 Egg-Whites, room temperature
  • 330g White sugar (brown if you don’t mind them not being white)
  • Pinch of Salt
Instructions
  1. Put the sugar in the mixing bowl and pulse for 10 seconds on Turbo.
  2. Place the butterfly in the bowl and add the egg whites along with a pinch of salt.
  3. ‘Cook’ at 37C for 7 minutes on speed 2, no MC.
  4. Leave the mix to cool for 10 minutes with the lid off.
  5. Mix again for 7 min/speed 2.
  6. Either pipe the mixture with a piping bag into small circles, or a large ‘pie’ for pavlova-style deserts, or dollop the mix onto a baking tray in spoonfuls, leaving space for expansion.
  7. Cook for about 60-90 minutes on 100C° to 120 min at 80C° depending on your oven and meringue sizes – as well as how chewy you want it.
  8. When finished, leave in the oven to dry out while cooling down.

 

*original recipe found on the Thermomix forums

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Sweet Apple Muffins

I took my children apple picking a few weeks ago, and we came home with masses of apples – way more than we needed really, but it was so much fun picking, that we just kept going. Since then we’ve been making a lot of apple dishes, and these apple muffins have come out as a real favourite. My girls request them. Since they only take two apples we decided to freeze some in packs of two for use over the winter months too.

[kitchenbug-your-recipe-appears-here-14355]

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Raw Blackberry Crumble Recipe

Raw Blackberry Crumble

It’s easy to reach for comfort foods at this time of year, as the seasons change and we start going a little more insular, but there’s no reason your blackberry crumble has to be unhealthy – if fact, if you have a raw blackberry crumble, it’s fresh, good for you, and what’s more, you can make these ahead and take them out as you fancy.

I found the walnuts I used in this quite bitter, so will try different walnuts next time, or perhaps hazelnuts or something else. It’s a lovely snack to have in the freezer for when you just want something nice. These were especially good, because my daughters and I went foraging, picking the berries ourselves earlier in the day.

Take these from the freezer about half an hour before you eat them, and enjoy!

 

Raw Blackberry Crumble Recipe
Author: Luschka
Ingredients
  • [u]Crumble
  • [/u]
  • 1 cup walnuts/pecan nuts or cashew nuts
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 pitted dats
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or essence
  • Pinch Himalayan or rock salt
  • [u]Filling[/u]
  • 1 cup fresh blackberries
  • 2 dates pitted dates
  • 1 Tbsp honey, local preferable
Instructions
  1. I use my Thermomix, but any food processor that can handle nuts will do.
  2. To make the crumble, add the nuts, coconut, salt, dates and vanilla to the bowl and process – (10 seconds, speed 6). You want it to be a crumble, not a paste.
  3. Take 3/4 of the mix and press into a pan, or silicone cupcake pans. Put the rest of the crumble aside.
  4. To make the filling, add half the blackberries into the food processor, along with dates and honey. Process until well blended. Add the remaining blackberries and mix lightly so there are still whole blackberry chunks.
  5. Pour the blackberry filling over the crust in the cake pan, or scoop into muffin cases and top with the remaining crumble.
  6. Gently press the crumble, and freeze. When it’s a frozen, remove from muffin trays and place in airtight container.
  7. To serve, remove from freezer about half an hour before.

 

 

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Honey Rosemary Twist Bread

Honey Rosemary Twist BreadI was watching a show on TV where the chef made a bread very similar to my usual bread recipe, but instead of olive oil, she added seed oil, and then added a lot of nuts. and seeds. I have a very good seedbread recipe, so I wasn’t overly desperate to try a new one, but when she added honey I remembered the honey and rosemary bread that a Thermomix demonstrator in Australia had made for us, and I suddenly thought I had to try something similar combining the two ideas into one bread. Here is the very delicious result of that experiment.

Honey Rosemary Twist Bread
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 650g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 7g sachet or two teaspoons of fast action dried yeast
  • 4 teaspoons of honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 – 4 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 350g (1.5 cups) warm water
Instructions
  1. Add everything to your bowl in the order mentioned.
  2. In the Thermomix, mix for 20 seconds, then knead for 3 minutes.
  3. If you’re using a different processor or kneading by hand, you need to knead it until it is firm and springy, about 10 minutes (i.e. if you dent it with your finger, it should spring back to cover the dent)
  4. Divide the dough into three, and roll out each ball into a long strip.
  5. Twist each strip into a twisty rope, then put all three together and twist again into one big twist.
  6. Place on your baking tray – I use a gorgeous Pampered Chef stone bake tray which is perfect for breads – in a circle.
  7. Cover for 30 minutes to let it rise.
  8. Switch on the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 now and place the bread inside, letting it cook for 20 minutes as the oven heats up and reaches temperature.
  9. The loaf is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped underneath. If not, then give it another five minutes or so in the oven.
  10. Once ready remove from the oven and serve with salad. It also goes really well with red meat or roasted butternut soup, or anything that goes well with rosemary.
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{Slightly} Healthier Chocolate Brownies

Healthier Chocolate BrownieEvery now and then, this girl just needs chocolate. Colour me wrong, but sometimes, I just need chocolate. Today was one of those days. No sooner was my youngest riding off into dreamland, and I was in the kitchen throwing together a chocolate brownie. This one uses Rapadura and hazelnuts, so it’s not perfect, but it’s better than refined sugar.

The calorie count difference between rapadura and brown sugar is minimal, maybe one or two, but the big difference between them is in the vitamin c and iron percentages. 200g of sugar contains no vitamin c, and 5% iron, while 200g of rapadura contains 7% vitamin c and 42% iron. You’re still having the calories, but at least you’re getting something good with them.

Serve with home made Rapadura ice cream, or on it’s own as a yummy snack.

Recipe Type: Sweet, desert
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15
A great, quick brownie for your sweet fix, without being terribly bad for you.
Ingredients
  • 200g Rapadura Sugar (brown will do too)
  • 115g butter
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon rum extract (vanilla will do)
  • 2 eggs
  • 115g plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 50g hazelnuts chopped (walnuts will work too)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4/350F
  2. Mix all ingredients together in the order given
  3. Pour into a greased baking tin
  4. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes
  5. Serve warm with icecream or on it’s own as a snack.

nutrition

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Quick And Easy Healthier Carrot Cake

A few years ago I made the perfect carrot cake. I don’t know what recipe I used and have never found it again, but I suspect if I did I wouldn’t use it anymore anyway – it probably had too much sugar and white flour in it anyway.

Carrot CakeI’m still in search of the new ‘perfect’ carrot cake, but these come up a really good alternative, in the meantime.

They last two or so days in a lunch box, and make a great school snack, largely because they’re ‘cake’ without being ‘cake’. We also make them without frosting to make them that little bit healthier, but really, I don’t think it needs anything more anyway.

If you don’t have Rapadura*, you can substitute for brown sugar, but Rapadura is a healthier alternative. I have linked you to the brand we use. Same for the coconut oil.

Possibly one of my favourite things about this carrot cake is that it is so quick and easy to make – no faffing required, and it is really tasty.

Recipe Type: Cake, Snack
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18
I make these in a brownie pan, and don’t add any frosting to them at all. You could mix cream cheese and icing sugar to frost, but we like them just like this. They make lovely lunch box snacks. You can add nuts if you wish – just adjust the amount of raisins.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups carrots (roughly four or five medium sized carrots)
  • 140g raisins
  • 125ml [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biona-Organic-Virgin-Coconut-Pack/dp/B0062Y7RTU/” target=”_blank”]coconut oil[/url]
  • 115g plain wholemeal flour
  • 115g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100g [u][url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biona-Organic-Rapadura-Sugar-Pack/dp/B006MW27UG” target=”_blank” title=”rapadura”]rapadura [/url][/u](or brown sugar)
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 160C/320F
  2. Grate carrots finely
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed
  4. Mix together till it’s all incorporated, but work quickly before the baking powder and bicarb go ‘flat’
  5. Scoop into muffin or brownie trays/cake tins
  6. Cook for 20 minutes in cake tin/brownie pan but about 12 – 15 in muffin tins.
  7. Check by sticking a skewer in the middle. If It comes out clean, they are ready.
  8. If you’re using a Thermomix:
  9. Chop the carrots on Turbo for 3-4 seconds
  10. Add ingredients in order listed
  11. Mix on reverse speed for 30 seconds,
  12. Knead for 1 min on closed lid setting
  13. Scoop into muffin or brownie trays/cake tins
  14. Cook for 20 minutes in cake tin/brownie pan but about 12 – 15 in muffin tins.
  15. Check by sticking a skewer in the middle. If It comes out clean, they are ready.

 

 

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Buckwheat Banana Bread

A lovely, sugar free banana bread, perfect for a healthy, nutritious snack.

Buckwheat Banana BreadI don’t use artificial sweeteners, and I certainly don’t let my children consume Aspartame. The problem with anything ‘sugar free’ or ‘free from’ is that to replace the sugar, they usually put a list of chemicals in it’s place. When that’s the case, I’d rather just have the sugar.

A great substitute for sugar in baking, is dates. Pureed with just a little water to help the machine, I often replace date puree for sugar at a one for one ratio. Try it, and see what you think!

Despite the ‘wheat’ in the name buckwheat, there is no wheat in it – it’s entirely wheat free. The consistency is a little different than normal flour and it may take a little getting used to, but it’s entirely worth it!

 

Buckwheat Banana Bread
Recipe Type: Muffins, snacks,
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 50
Buckwheat and bananas? yum, yum, yum, and guilt free too, with it’s sugar-free and gluten free ingredients.
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1 ½ cups buckwheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅓ cup date puree (1/3 cup dates, covered with hot water and blended)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger spices
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter and set aside.
  2. Whip the bananas until they are smooth and airy.
  3. Add the date puree, egg, vanilla, spices and butter to the bananas.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and pour into a cake or muffin pan
  6. Bake at 180C or 350F for about 30 minutes for cupcakes, 40-45mins for bread or cake
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Raw Caramel Slice


Rawfood, Caramel Slice
I’m super excited to welcome Charlotte as an author on Keeper of the Kitchen. I met Charlotte in Perth, Australia, and I’ve always been so inspired by her adventures in raw food preparation. She makes it look so good, and I’m really chuffed that she’s agreed to share her recipes with us!

——————————————————-

This is a raw, dairy free, vegan (if not using honey!), gluten free caramel slice alternative. I say alternative but for me there is no question which one I would rather eat. This still has high calories like a regular caramel slice but they aren’t empty calories. With nuts, coconut oil and raw cacao powder full of healthy vitamins and minerals there is no reason not to eat this delicious slice. I like to cut it up into little squares and freeze it, perfect for that 3pm sweet craving or to have ready for unexpected guests.

I make it in the Thermomix, but you can make it in any high powered blender.

Raw Caramel Slice
Recipe Type: Desert, Sweets, Raw
Cuisine: Raw
Author: Charlotte F
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15
Just to taunt you for now – recipe will be up shortly – is this raw, dairy free, vegan (if not using honey!), gluten free caramel slice alternative.
Ingredients
  • [u]Base[/u]
  • ½ cup Medjool dates
  • 1 cup almonds
  • ½ cup cashews
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence[br]
  • [u]Caramel[/u]
  • ½ cup tahini
  • ½ cup maple syrup or raw honey
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Large pinch Himalayan salt[br]
  • [u]Chocolate topping[/u]
  • 3 tbsp raw cacao
  • 1 tsp carob powder
  • 3-4 tbsp coconut sugar, rapadura sugar or agave syrup
  • ½ cup coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Grind pitted dates and nuts in blender. Add vanilla & blend until it’s sticky. If it’s not becoming sticky add an extra date.
  2. With a spatula or back of a spoon press mixture into a rectangular dish greased in coconut oil.
  3. Blend caramel ingredients together and pour over biscuit base and set in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  4. While the slice is setting, for the chocolate topping blend coconut oil and all other ingredients. The heat from the blender usually melts the coconut oil if it is solid.
  5. Then pour chocolate topping over slice and place back in freezer to set again.
  6. With a warm knife, cut into small squares to serve.