Dinner Rolls

Prepare the Dinner Roll Yeast We're going to start with some yeast for these delicious rolls. It's going to be 1 packet of dry yeast, that's 2 1/4 tsp. And a 1/4 cup of warm, not hot, water. Start the Roll Dough While that's dissolving, we're going to get 1 cup of milk, and 3 tbsp of butter and throw it in the microwave for a minute to warm the milk.

In the meantime we're going to throw in (to the yeast mixture): 1 beaten egg 2 tbsp sugar 3/4 tsp salt 1 cup of flour Add the warm milk/butter mixture. That can't be piping hot, so let it cool to warm before adding. Otherwise you will kill the yeast. Give that a mix, and then add another cup of flour. Switch to a spatula. Give that a mix and add a third cup of flour and that will form a wet, sticky dough. But it should be dry enough to scrap out on to the cutting board to begin to knead. So after 3 cups of flour, it should look like this. Knead the Dinner Roll Dough

On a floured board, we're going to plop down the dough and we're going to work that for about 6-7 minutes. We're only going to add flour in when the dough gets too sticky to knead. So make sure your hands are floured, and work that using the old kneading method - half turns and push it with your palm. Knead that until you have a smooth and elastic, but still soft and slightly sticky dough. Don't work too much flour into the dough, only add it if it gets to sticky to work with. So knead it until it gets to this point - this is what I mean by elastic, see how it springs back. Form that into a nice smooth ball. Allow the Dough to Rise In a mixing bowl, add a 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil, throw in the dough and make sure it's coated with oil so it doesn't dry out. Cover with a towel and let it rise, in a warn spot, until double in size. Should take about an hour to an hour and a half. Form the Dinner Rolls After it doubles, throw it on a lightly floured cutting board, and pat it down with your hands. Form it into a square shape. Then take a knife and cut it into 12 pieces. Then we're going to shape the rolls, which is very simple. Just take a piece of dough and roll it into a round shape in your palm. Let the Rolls Rise Now, we're going to put them on the pan, kind of close, about 1 1/2" apart. As they rise and double in size, which will take about 30-45 minutes, they will sort of touch each other and that's what going to give them that great dinner roll shape. Bake the Dinner Rolls We're going to bake these at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. And that is one beautiful set of dinner rolls. They even have that traditional touching "pullapart" quality which I think is pretty cool. And, since these are so easy, I don't buy these at the store anymore. It's just not how I "roll." Anyway, give these a try.

Petit Fours

A petit four (plural: petits fours) is a small confectionery generally eaten at the end of a meal (with coffee) or served as part of dessert. The name is from the French petit four (French meaning "small oven".) 2 pound cakes (homemade or purchased) ICING: 2 lbs. confectioners' sugar 1/4 c. butter, melted 1 c. light cream 1 tsp. almond or vanilla flavoring Vegetable coloring Sprinkles, coconut, candied cherries, chopped nuts, etc. for decorating Cut cakes into desired shapes, small rectangles, diamonds, etc. ICING: Place all ingredients in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Stir until smooth. Divide into smaller groups and color each as desired. To Ice: Spear each piece of cake and dip into icing. Remove from icing and twirl so icing covers evenly. Place on wax paper to dry and decorate as desired with sprinkles, etc.

Croissant

A croissant is a buttery flaky viennoiserie bread roll named for its distinctive crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.Crescent-shaped food breads have been made since the Middle Ages, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since classical times. Ingredients for Croissants For this recipe, you will need: 1/2 cup water 1/3 cup evaporated milk 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature 2 eggs, one at room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 3 cups bread flour 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast Mix the Croissant Ingredients In one bowl, combine the yeast, salt, sugar, and 1 cup of flour. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix the water and milk. Warm up the mixture on the stove or in the microwave until it is between 120 and 130 degrees. Make the Dough I'm going to use my stand mixer to make the dough. In a mixing bowl, first combine the dry mixture, then the milk and water mixture, and then the butter. Now I'm going to attach the beater. Beat for about four minutes on medium speed. Next, add 1 egg and beat for another minute. Knead the Dough Then, switch the beaters to a dough hook attachment. Gradually add the remaining flour, and knead for five to seven minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Grease and Refrigerate the Dough While the dough is kneading, lightly oil a bowl a mixing bowl. Remove the dough hook, and place the dough in the bowl. Rotate the dough so the top is also greased. Cover and refrigerate the dough for two hours. Most croissant recipes call for a lot of folding and refrigerating, sometimes totaling 12 hours or more. Since this recipe takes less time, the croissants will look a little like crescent rolls. But they'll still taste like croissants. Divide and Cut the Dough After the dough has rested, lightly flour a rolling surface and rolling pin. Put down the dough and knead about six times to release all the air bubbles. Then, divide it into three parts. Roll each part into a 14-inch circle. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the circle into eight pie-shaped wedges. Shape the Croissants Now, roll each wedge, starting with wide part and rolling towards the point. Place them on a paper-lined sheet, with the point side facing down. Then, curve them into a crescent shape. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the shaped croissants rise for another 15 minutes while the oven reheats.

Bake the Croissants The last step is to combine a slightly beaten egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the croissants with the egg mixture; this will give them a nice golden color. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. When they are golden brown, remove the croissants from the sheets and place them on a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter or jam, and enjoy.

Torte

A torte is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with buttercreams, mousses, jams, or fruits. Ordinarily, the cooled torte is glazed and garnished. A torte may be made with little to no flour, but instead with ground nuts or breadcrumbs, as well as sugar, eggs, and flavorings. Ingredients 1 envelope unflavored gelatin 1 1/4 cups cold water - divided use 3 cups cooked rice 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/4 cups flaked coconut 1 cup toasted chopped almonds 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1. In small bowl, combine 1/4 cup cold water and gelatin; set aside. 2. Combine 1 cup water, rice and sweetened condensed milk in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently; stir in gelatin. Remove from heat; stir in coconut and almonds. Pour rice mixture into a 9-inch springform pan; smooth top. 3. Combine chocolate chips and butter in small saucepan. Cook over low heat until blended; stir constantly. Spread chocolate over rice mixture. 4. Chill until firm, about 2 hours. 5. To serve, run knife around sides of pan; remove side

Gateau

A gteau (pronounced ga-toe) is a French cake, often specifically a sponge cake that may be made from almond flour instead of wheat flour. In general terms, any cake in France may be considered a gteau, but some French cakes are more gteaux than cakes you might see in other parts of the world. Yet if you order any kind of cake in France, you will be ordering a gteau. Ingredients

175g salted butter , plus extra for greasing 200g bar dark chocolate 300g plain flour 375g golden caster sugar 25g cocoa 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 medium eggs 200g buttermilk or natural yoghurt

Methods Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 3 x 20cm cake tins. Boil the kettle. Put the butter and 75g chocolate broken into chunks in a small pan and gently heat, stirring, until completely melted. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk or yogurt together. Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, add 100ml boiling water and whizz briefly with an electric whisk until the cake batter is lump free. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25 mins, swapping the tins round after 20 mins if they're on different shelves. To test they're done, push in a skewer and check that it comes out clean. Prick the cakes a few times with a skewer. Mix together the 2 tbsp reserved cherry juice and the kirsch (or more juice) and drizzle over the cakes. Cool the cakes. Mix together the remaining drained cherries and jam. Tip 200ml of the cream into a small pan and heat until just below simmering point. Chop the remaining chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot cream and stir until melted. Set aside until spreadable. When the cakes are cool whisk the remaining cream and the icing sugar together until softly whipped. Spread over two of the cakes, then spoon over the jammy cherries. Stack the cakes together. Spread the chocolate cream over the third cake and sit on top of the other cakes. Pile the fresh cherries in and around the cake and serve.

Cream Puff

Cream puff is a shell of light pastry filled with whipped cream. Ingredients 1/2 cup (65 grams) all purposeflour 1/2 teaspoon granulated whitesugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) (57 grams) unsaltedbutter, cut into pieces 1/2 cup (120 ml) water 2 largeeggs, lightly beaten Glaze: 1 large egg Whipped Cream: 1 cup (240 ml) heavywhipping cream(double cream) (35-40% butterfat) 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated whitesugar, or to taste Garnish: Powdered (Confectioners or icing)sugar

Methods Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non stick vegetable spray. In a bowl sift or whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (Make sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of evaporation.) Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or use a hand mixer, and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon). Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. With a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 30 to 35minutesor until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Turn the oven off, poke a couple of holes in each puff and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells completely cool (and dry out). Whipped Cream: In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and whisk in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form. To Assemble: Split the pastry shells in half and fill (or pipe) with whipped cream. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar. Leftover Cream Puffs can be stored in the refrigerator. Makes 12 cream puffs.