Pumpkin Tart

I bought a whole pumpkin to think about nice Halloween recipes. Last time, I made pumpkin cheese cake and pumpkin cookies.

Today, I made Pumpkin Tart.

It is a easy recipe. To make pumpkin filling, just put filling ingredients into the food processor. It is decorated with whipped cream and pumpkin seeds.
I didn't add much sugar to filling, because pumpkin was quite sweet. I add cinnamon spice.

Pumpkinn Tart (20cm quiche tin)

Short Crust Pastry
150g Plain flour (shifted)
70g Butter
20g Sugar
1 Egg yolk

Pumpkin filling
150g Pumpkin (puree)
1 Egg
20g Sugar
1/2 tea spoon of Cinnamon
100cc Milk
50g fresh cream

Decoration
Whipped cream
Pumpkin seeds

1. Make pastry.
 Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy then add the egg yolk and beat until silky and lightened.
Add the shifted flour, mix together. Turn the dough onto floured counter and gather into one.
Cover with plastic wrap, and place it into the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes before using.

2. Meanwhile apply oil onto the tin. Preheat oven at 190℃.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough bigger than the tin.

With care, transfer and cover dough onto the tin. Fit it with the tin, and cut off the edge with a knife.
Prick the crust with a fork a few times.

Bake it at 180℃ for 15minutes.
Cool it down on the wired rack.

3.Preheat oven at 180℃.
 Make pumpkin filling.
Put the all filling ingredients into food processor, mix them till it becomes smooth.

4.  Pour into pastry crust, then bake it at 170℃ for 30 - 40 minutes.

5. When it get cool down, decorate with whipped cream and pumpkin seeds.

KUMARA UZUMAKI - Sweet potato spiral roll

I like sweet potato baking. It is quite similar with pumpkin baking. In japan, we cook sweet potato mostly as sweets. Oh, we cook sweet potato "tempura" (Japanese style fritter). I like to eat it with soy sauce.

"Kumara " is the word of Maori language, means sweet potato. "Maori " is the native of New Zealand. So here, in New Zealand, it is common to call it "Kumara".

"Uzumaki" is the spiral in Japanese. "Sweet potato spiral" I mixed it together. 

Make sweet potato filling at first. I made it the day before, and put it in the fridge.  I just mashed potatoes. If you want smooth texture, puree them by blender or food processor.  You can add more sugar if you are sugar bee.

Kumara Uzuaki
Sweet potato filling
300g Sweet potato (cooked and peeled)
40g Sugar
20g Unsalted Butter

Dough
300g High grade flour
30g sugar
5g Salt
100cc Milk
85cc Water
5g Instant Yeast
20g Unsalted Butter

1. At first, make sweet potato  filling. Steam up the sweet potato till it becomes soft. peal it, and while it is hot, mush them. Add sugar and butter, then combine well. If you want smooth texture, puree by blender or food processor when it get cool down.

2. Place flour, milk,water, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for about 7 minutes. Add butter and mix for another 6minutes. The dough becomes very soft and extensible, elastic. It can be stretched a paper thin“windowpane” .

3. Transfer the dough to a covered container and ferment at warm room temperature (about 27℃) for 1.5 - 2 hours.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly. Divide it into 10 pieces, and make them rough balls. Set them 15 minutes with cover.

5. Final shape.

A. Roll it out 15cm x 20cm . Place the sweet potato filling on the dough. Make 2cm space on the top for sealing.
B. Roll it over. Seal it tightly, then roll it and make it 25cm cylinder.
C. Cut it into half, but don't cut the one side of edge.

D. Twist it as showing the filing side.
E & F. Make it spiral shape.

6. Place them at warm place (40℃) for 30 minutes. And preheat oven at 200℃.

7. Bake them at 200℃ for 11～15 minutes.

8. Cool them down on a wired rack.

It is placed at Yeast spotting, here.

Tea Leaf Sourdough Loaf

This is an aromatic bread loaf. You can taste tea flavor and elastic texture.

I was looking for the recipe for honey toast. Then I found tea bags on my shelf. Why not to try make tea leaf bread?!

It suit with honey, fruit jam and something sweet stuff. I had one with peanut butter and banana for my break first.

It is simple to make. Just add tea bags to sourdough bread recipe.

Tea Leaf Sourdough Loaf 

Sourdough starter

100g High grade flour

100g Water

1 tea spoon of sourdough starter

or pinch of yeast

Final dough

300g of High grade flour

7g Salt

20g Honey

4 Tea bags

190g Water

1. The day before, in a container, combine flour, water and sourdough starter and stir. Set it 6-10 hours to ripen at room temperature.

2. In the mixer or bread machine, combine the final dough ingredients. Mix it 12 minute till it becomes smooth and elastic.

3. Put it into the container, then proof it at warp place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 6 - 10 hours).
4. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Preshape it and let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Shape into final loaf. Put the dough into the oil coated loaf tin.

6. Place it into warm place (35℃) with spray water, rise it for 1.5- 2 hours till it becomes double size.
 Preheat the oven at 210℃.

7. Bake it at 200℃ for 20 minutes and at 180℃ for 10 minutes till it becomes golden brown.

Yeastspotting at WildYeast

Chocolate chip Melon Pan -part 2-

Before I added Melon pan recipe last year. When I made it and put the photo on facebook, some people asked me the recipe. So it is the story to start my recipe blog. 
I am sure Melon pan is an acceptable Japanese pastry all over the world. In Japan, we have some flavors of Melon pan....Plain, chocolate chip, maple syrup, green tea, strawberry and so on.

Today, I made plain and chocolate chip Melon pan.
Melon pan doesn't taste melon, unless added melon extract. But it is called Melon, because of shapes.
The soft and milky dough is covered with sweet cookie crust with sprinkled sugar. It is perfect for tea and breakfast.

 I rewrote the recipe and put the process photo. I made the cookie dough a day before. It need to rest in the fridge for 3 hours or over night.
If you want to make plain Melon pan, take out chocolate chips. I wrote chocolate version, here.

Melon Pan (make 12)
Cookie crust
60g Unsalted Butter (soften)
80g Sugar
1 (60g) Egg (beaten)
205g Flour (sifted)
70g Chocolate chips

Dough
300g High grade flour
5g Instant Yeast
20g Sugar
5g Salt
90cc Milk (lake warm)
100cc Water(lake warm)
15g Unsalted Butter (melted)

1. Make cookie crust.
Cream butter and add sugar, whip them till whiten. Add egg, and combine well. Add sifted flour, combine with spatula. Knead it lightly on the counter. Combine chocolate chips, knead it briefly till chocolate chips are just evenly incorporated into the dough. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for 3 hours or over night.

2. Make the dough.
In the mixer or bread machine, combine the final dough ingredients. Mix it 13 minutes.

3. Put it into the container, then proof it at warp place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 1-1.5 hours).

4.Meanwhile, divide Cookie Crust dough into 12 pieces(35- 40g), and shape into a ball. Make them 5cm round shape. See the photo below, make it like UFO.

5.  Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Divide it into 12pieces (40- 45g) and preshape it, let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.

6. I put how to wrap it, here.

Shape them into final balls (A).
Cover and wrap the ball with cookie crust dough(B).
Press the dough with your thumb and wrap with your other fingers. You don't need to cover the bottom. (C)
Score with the scraper if you want.

7. Dip them into sugar for decoration.

8. Place them at warm place (40℃) for 30 minutes. And preheat oven at 200℃.

9. Bake them at 200℃ for 11～15 minutes.

10. Cool them down.

I posted it to Yeastspotting.

Rich Milk Loaf

It is not just a simple white bread!

It is very soft and springy crumb.
This loaf contains milk and fresh pure cream instead of water.  That makes rich creamy taste.

Actually in Japan, we have Hokkaido milk bread. ''Hokkaido'' is place which produce good quality milk in Japan.  This loaf is the same type of bread, rich milk taste, soft and springy.

I recommend to toast it and spread with butter and honey as breakfast!

Rich Milk Loaf
Sour dough starter
50g High grade flour
50 cc Water
Pinch of yeast

Final dough
350g High grade flour
120cc Milk
100cc Pure cream
30g Sugar
7g Salt
20g Unsalted Butter (melted)

1. The day before, in a container, combine flour, water and sourdough starter and stir. Set it 6-10 hours to ripen at room temperature.

2. Heat up milk and pure cream at 30℃.
In the mixer or bread machine, combine the final dough ingredients. and milk, pure cream. Mix it 10 minute.

3. Put it into the container, then proof it at warp place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 6 - 10 hours).

4. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Preshape it and let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.

5. Shape into final loaf. Put the dough into the oil coated loaf tin.
6. Place it into warm place (35℃) with spray water, rise it for 1.5- 2 hours. Preheat the oven at 210℃.

7. Bake it at 200℃ for 20 minutes and at 180℃ for 10 minutes till it becomes golden brown.

Also you can find nice recipe on Yeastspotting.

Pumpkin Anpan (pumpkin filling bun)

Anpan is a Japanese sweet bun most commonly filled with red beans paste, anko. Anpan can also be prepared with other fillings, sweet potato, chest nuts, pumpkin, and so on.

I think some of people haven't tried Anko (red beans paste). Actually, they are Azuki beans. You can get them at Asian market or big super market.
And it takes time to make paste. I tell you how to make it easily. The day before, you need to soak the beans, then boil them till become soft. Add sugar and stir it till it become paste. Cool it down before fill into the dough.

But Pumpkin Ann (filling) is much easier than red bean paste. It is also quite popular in Japan.

I put some pumpkin paste in the dough. It makes soft and moist, yellow color. The liquid on the dough, you might need more or less. It depends on mushed pumpkin is how much water including.  Sweet dough and light sweet pumpkin filling. Don't you think the shape look pretty? I hope you can understand my explanation of shaping! They are nice for tea.

Pumpkin Anpan (make 10 buns)
Pumpkin Ann (filling)
300g Pumpkin (without seeds, peel)
80g Sugar (less or more)
20g Butter

Dough
120g Pumpkin (mushed)
300g High grade flour
30g sugar
5g Salt
100cc Milk
40cc Water (if you need)
5g Instant Yeast
20g Unsalted Butter
(For decoration, you need egg wash and pumpkin seeds. )
1. At first, make pumpkin filling.  Steam up the pumpkin till it becomes soft. While it is hot, mush them. Add sugar and butter, them combine well. If it is too soft for filling, put on the low heat and stir. Or if it is quite hard for filling, add milk.
Cool it down before use.

2. Place flour, milk,water,  yeast, sugar, salt and pumpkin in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for about 7 minutes. Add butter and mix for another 6minutes. The dough becomes very soft and extensible, elastic. It can be stretched a paper thin“windowpane” .

3. Transfer the dough to a covered container and ferment at warm room temperature (about 27℃) for 1.5 - 2 hours.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly. Divide it into 10 pieces(65g), and make them rough balls. Set them 15 minutes with cover.

5. Final shape.

①Press the dough and make it round. Put the pumpkin filling in the center.
②③Use thumb and forefinger of right and left to wrap it.
④Seal it tightly.

①Put it upside down. Sealing goes to the bottom.
②press the dough gently with your thumb. (I used a spice bottle cap)
③Cut the dough with scissors like the photo.

6. Place them into the warm place(35℃) for 45 - 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 200 ℃。Before bake, apply egg wash.
7. Bake them at 190℃ for 12 - 15 minutes till it becomes golden brown.

8. Cool them down.

Round shape

Caramel Banana Cake

I got left over black spotted bananas. Do you think they are too much riped? They are still eatable, and sweet and soft. It is best time to eat!! But I couldn't eat them all at once, so I made Banana cake.

Banana cake or Banana bread is popular all over the world!! It is easy to make. You can make it with one bowl.
At first, I made caramel banana with a sauce pan. That is a point. It makes cake bit of bitter taste and extra sweet.

This cake has moist and sweet because of banana. And caramel makes it moister and brown color. 
It is fine served on its own with no topping or  light dusting of icing sugar, or you can fold leftover caramel sauce into whipped cream for a richer treat.

I used a 20cm x 20cm square tin. But this recipe is for a loaf tin.

Caramel Banana Cake
Caramel banana
3 of Riped bananas (sliced)
50g Sugar
2 Tea spoon of Hot water

Cake
200g Rising flour (sifted)
1 Tea spoon of Baking powder
3 Eggs (beaten)
100g Unsalted butter

1. Make caramel banana sauce.  Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a sauce pan. As the sugar begins to melt, shake the sauce pan. Don't stir it!! Sugar  becomes brown and caramelize, turn off the heat and add 2 teaspoon of hot water. Be careful, the hot caramel sauce might splash.
Add sliced bananas into the sauce and combine well. 

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Preheat oven at 190℃.

3. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy then add the eggs one by one and beat until silky and lightened.

4. Add 1/2 of sifted flour and combine with a spatura gently. Add caramel sauce and all flour, combine gently as well.

5. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Bake it at 180℃ for 45 - 50 minutes till cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool it down and take the cake out from tin.