Cape Seed Bread

This is a typical South African bread recipe. It's healthy and delicious.

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
1 cup bran
4 cups wholewheat flour
15ml sunflower oil
15 ml honey or brown sugar
15ml salt
100ml each sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds
3 cups lukewarm water
30g fresh yeast

Method
Mix the bran, flour, honey or sugar, salt and seeds together in a bowl.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 250ml lukewarm water, add to the fresh yeast and leave in a warn place until frothy. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the yeast mixture.

Now, using a wooden spoon, add as much of the remaining water as the flour will absorb. (The consistency should be that of a fruit cake).

Spoon into a well-greased 750g loaf pan. Cover and set aside to prove for about one hour until the mixture has risen to fill the pan.

Bake at 200º C for approximately 60 minutes until the bread is cooked through.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours

 

 


Wedding Cupcakes for Bernadette's son

A few weeks ago, on a gorgeous Indian summer's day, Bernadette's son walked down the isle with his beautiful bride.

We were asked if we would make cupcakes to serve to guests after the ceremony. As their colour scheme included lime green, we decided on using with that as our base.

After working on flavours and designs with them, we finally decided to start with green cupcake cases. These were filled with a light and airy lemon sponge, filled with homemade raspberry jam and topped with vanilla meringue buttercream, a raspberry and fresh mint.

This was also the perfect opportunity to put our new Magimix Patissier to good use. This machine is ideal for making cake batters, pastry, bread dough and meringues.

With it's powerful and quiet motor, it was a breeze preparing the sponge. We were loved the results and can't wait see what else this mixer can do.

During the ceremony, Mischa finished off the cupcakes and presented them on a special stand in the church gardens. The cupcakes went down a treat, rounding off what was a special and glorious day.

If you would like to order cupcakes from the Amsterdam Flavours Chefs for a special occasion, please contact us here.


Lemon cakes

Ingredients
butter for greasing the tin
5 eggs
300 g castor sugar
140 ml cream
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
25 ml dark rum
pinch of salt
80 g unsalted butter, melted
240 g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the glaze
50 g apricot jam, warmed
finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 3 tablespoons juice
150 g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Lightly grease the loaf tin (26 x 9cm) with butter and line with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cream, lemon zest, rum, salt and melted butter. Sift the flour and baking powder together, then whisk into the egg mixture until smooth.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and gently level the surface. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, turning the tin around halfway through cooking. Test the cake by inserting a small knife or skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, then the cake is cooked. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Lightly brush the cake all over with the warm apricot jam. Leave for 5 minutes. Mix the lemon zest and juice with the icing sugar in a small pan and heat until lukewarm and smooth. Brush the lemon glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Leave for a few minutes to set.

Place the cake on a baking tray in the oven, turn off the heat and leave for 3 - 5 minutes to dry the glaze - it will become translucent. Allow to cool before slicing.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours

Curious to taste these delicious lemon cakes? Like & share the Amsterdam Flavours facebookpage and maybe you will be the lucky winner of two lemon cakes. THE WINNERS ARE: Jan Kleijn, Jaqueline Kalma en Marianne Bitter. Congrats and enjoy! You can send your home adres to: info@amsterdamflavours.com


Limoncello Almond Cake

Ingredients
250 g blanched almonds or 250 g ground almonds
5 eggs
190 g castor sugar
100 g butter, softened
40 g potato flour (gluten free) or flour
75 ml limoncello
grated zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
6 g baking powder
icing sugar to decorate (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 160° C.

If using whole blanched almonds, grind them finely in a food processor, otherwise add the already ground almonds to the bowl. Add the eggs to the food processor and blend for 2 minutes until the eggs are well mixed with the almonds.

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the baking powder and blend to a smooth batter. Add the baking powder and blend briefly until just mixed.

Dampen a piece of baking paper with water from a tap. Squeeze out the excess and use to line a 26 cm round  cake tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool and decorate with icing sugar and flaked almonds.

As we announced last week, not only is Di Zabbia a delicious degistif, it is also wonderful ingredient in cooking and baking. Try this delicious limoncello almond cake, it's quick and easy to prepare.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours


Baba au Limoncello

Ingredients
100g butter, softened to room temperature
25g fresh yeast or 10g dried yeast
250g flour, sifted
25g sugar
generous pinch of salt
4 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
50g melted butter, for greasing

SYRUP
1 liter water
500g sugar
1 cup limoncello

Method
Mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the sugar and salt, 2 eggs and the yeast mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is elastic, then add the other egg. Work this in and then add the final egg and work it in. Finally add the softened butter and the lemon zest.

Brush 16 dariole moulds with the melted butter. Divide the dough into 16 small pieces and put a piece into each mould. Leave in a warm place until the dough has risen to fill the moulds. Preheat the oven to 200°C and then bake them for 15-20 minutes. Turn the babas out immediately onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

Prepare the syrup by boiling together the water and sugar. Add the limoncello. Dip each baba into the boiling syrup and leave submerged until no more air bubbles are released. Drain and place on a cake rack resting over a dish. As the limoncello syrup collects in this dish, repeatedly spoon it over the babas to keep them very moist.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours


Summer apricot cake

Ingredients
250 g brown sugar
125 g unsalted butter, softened
8-12 apricots, halved and pits removed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
85 ml cream
creme fraiche, to serve

Method
Preheat the oven to 175° C. Combine 150 g of the brown sugar with 60 g of the butter in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until well combined and smooth. Remove from the heat and pour into a well-greased, round, 23 cm cake tin, spreading it out evenly. Place the apricot halves on top, cut-side down.

Beat the remaining 65 g butter and 100 g sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder to combine with a pinch of salt. Fold into the butter mixture, add the cream and mix well. Spoon the batter over the apricots and bake for about 40 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Stand in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on to a plate.

Serve with creme fraiche. The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Note: Other stone fruit such as plums or small peached and nectarines also work well.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours


Shortbread

Ingredients
250 g flour
75 g castor sugar
150 g unsalted butter
pinch of salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 170° C.

Place the flour, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and starts binding together.

Remove the dough from the food processor and knead lightly until the mixture comes together. Divide the pastry into 2 equal portions and form into 2 discs on a baking tray. Crimp the edges and prick with a fork to prevent the shortbread from rising in the oven.

Bake for about 35 minutes until pale golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with castor sugar. Allow to cool for about 3 minutes and then cut into 8 wedges. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Shortbread keeps well for a couple weeks if stored in an airtight container. But if you're as greedy as we are, it will probably only last a couple of days!

If you don't have a food processor, shortbread and also be made by hand.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours


Focaccia

Ingredients
1 kg bread flour
120 g polenta
20 g salt
35 g fresh yeast or 17 g dried yeast
about 600 ml lukewarm water

Method
Place the flour, polenta and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the yeast in a bowl or measuring jug, add the warm water and mix to dissolve the yeast.

Carefully pour the yeasted water into the flour mixture and turn the machine on to a low speed until a dough has formed. If the mixture is too dry, add some more warm water until you have a soft dough. It's important that the dough is not too dry otherwise your bread will be heavy and won't rise well.

Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball, cover with a damp tea towel and let the bread rise for about an hour until doubled in size. This is called the first proving.

Preheat the oven to 200° C. Knead the dough to and flatten out onto an oven tray greased with olive oil. Press the dough with your fingers forming little holes. Drizzle generously with olive oil. The little holes will fill with oil, which will add a beautiful flavour and texture to the bread. Top the brad with whatever flavourings you like: coarse sea salt, fresh herbs such as rosemary or thyme, caramelized onions, oven-dried tomatoes. The choice is yours.

Allow the bread to rise again for a further 20-30 minutes. This is called the second proving. Place the bread into the oven for about 30-35 minutes.

The bread is done when it releases itself easily from the tray, the bread sounds 'hollow' when tapped and that it has a beautiful golden color. Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack. Serve in slices while still warm.

If you don't have a mixer, this can all be done by hand. Bare in mind, you'll have to knead the dough for a good 10 minutes, but at least you won't have to go to the gym! The dough should them be smooth and silky and not stick to your hands.

 

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours