Wednesday 5 April 2017

Hot Cross Tear and Share Bread

Hot Cross Tear and Share Bread

It’s almost Easter time. I’m loving the start of spring. Since moving into our home, I have become much more aware of the garden and seasons. I love seeing the flowers growing and the beautiful colours that spring up.

Hot Cross Tear and Share Bread


And as it’s Easter, I decided to make a traditional hot cross bun recipe but with a bit of a twist. I love the sweetly, spiced buns – perfect with a schmear of butter on top.

Redmond Multicooker


To change things up however, I cracked out my RMC-M4502E Multicooker from Redmond. This is a great device to have in a kitchen. You can bake, cook, steam, fry almost anything in the multicooker. Take a look at the table below which shows the multitude of features of the multicooker.



I made small buns from the hot cross dough and popped these into the non-stick bowl which comes with the multicooker. I stuck them in, in a haphazard way, a bit like monkey bread.



 I had made small crosses in the buns, with a paste made from flour and water, but sadly these disappeared whilst cooking.


I set the multicooker to bake and it took around 50 minutes. The kitchen smelled beautiful whilst it was baking away.

Redmond Multicooker


The resultant big bun which slid easily out of the bowl when baked, was well coloured on the sides and had a good colour on top, but I wanted to add a bit of icing on top, just to pretty it up a bit. I also took some micro eggs and crushed these to sprinkle into the wet icing.

Redmond Multicooker

The giant bun looked delicious and it was good fun to grab handfuls of the hot cross bun, to devour. It would be perfect for an Easter buffet.

Hot Cross Tear and Share Bread


The RMC-M4502E Multicooker from Redmond made this recipe so easy to knock up. The bowl was the perfect shape to place the balls of dough in, and also ideal for letting the dough rise before cooking. With the non-stick coating I knew it would slide out easily.


Here’s the recipe.




print recipe

Hot Cross Tear and Share Bread
Hot Cross Bun flavoured tear and share bread
Ingredients
  • 500 grams self-raising flour
  • 150 ml warm milk (I used soya)
  • 150 ml warm water
  • 1 large egg
  • Half teaspoon of salt
  • 2 packets of active dried yeast (about 14 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons allspice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 50 grams caster sugar
  • 100 grams raisins
  • 50 grams mixed peel
  • 10 -20 grams crushed micro chocolate eggs
  • Icing sugar
Instructions
In a bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, salt, yeast (keeping it away from the salt), cinnamon, all spice and sugar.Give this a mix with a whisk then add the milk, warm water and egg and give this a good mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a dough.Add the raisins and mixed peel and stir through.With the dough hook attachment, mix the dough for five minutes until the glutens develop and dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl.Cover with clingfilm and allow to prove in a warm place for 2 hours. After this time, punch the air out and place the dough onto a floured surface.With floured hands, pinch into little balls, rolling between your hands. I made the balls about two tablespoons worth.In the bowl of the multi cooker, place the balls in a random fashion and cover the bowl with more clingfilm and allow to prove for about 1 hour.Place the bowl into the multi cooker and bake for 1 hour.After this time, remove the giant bun from the multi cooker and allow to cool slightly.Make a simple icing from water and icing sugar and drizzle this over the big bun, then top with some crushed chocolate micro eggs.Let everyone get stuck in, tearing chunks from the bun and enjoy.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: I loaf.


Disclosure Statement: I received the multicooker free to review. I have been paid to develop this recipe using the multicooker.

Monday 3 April 2017

The Delicake Master


I was recently sent a new product to try out in the kitchen. From Australia, the Delicake Master is from a range of no-bake cakeware, now available in the UK.




If you want to be make a no bake cake, such as a cheesecake, or a mousse cake, something like that, then the Delicake Master ensures an easy way to add your ingredients and display them also.

For Mother's Day, mum came up and I made her a coconut and pineapple no bake cheesecake, as she adores pineapple. I made this in the Delicake master and it was so easy.

I made the usual biscuit base then pressed this into the base of the Delicake Master and chilled it in the fridge.


I then set about making the coconut cheesecake filling, which was lots of cream cheese, coconut cream and double cream. This was then spooned on top of the filling and smoothed over. I placed the lid of the Delicake Master on top and chilled this for a couple of hours.


Lastly I made a pineapple topping from a can of crushed pineapple, some cornflour and sugar. I boiled this on the hob then when it had cooled slightly I poured the pineapple on top of the cheesecake and spread this out, topping with some toasted coconut.

I chilled the dessert until the evening when Mum came up and it was time to eat.

The Delicake Master is see through, so you can see exactly what is inside. I removed the lid, then the  sleeve to reveal the cheesecake which was on the base part.


We didn't eat it all, so I just had to pop the sleeve back over and pop the lid back on.

This really is a great invention. It can be used for all sorts of no-bake desserts and comes apart easily for washing up. There are no leaks if you are making something liquid which has to set up.

I was sent the round Delicake Master which is 230mm diameter by 95.1mm high and comes in at £30.45. You can also buy a rectangle version which is 200mm by 300mm at £36.55.

Disclosure Statement: I was sent the Delicake master free to review. Any opinions are entirely my own.